ON FARM NATIONAL Over the fence In this series, Feedback follows a group of producers from across Australia as they manage their operations over the course of a year and respond to the challenges that arise in a modern beef enterprise. Meet our new producers for the 2018–19 series. SNAPSHOT: Jock Hughes, Longford, Tasmania Sl Area: 800ha Enterprise: Breeding seedstock Angus and Coopworth ewes, finishing lambs, cropping poppies, peas and grass seed Livestock: Angus cows, Coopworth ewes MY BUSINESS: speed up the rotations to keep the ryegrass Pasture: It’s a fourth-generation family farm. My in a vegetative state and delay it going into Ryegrass and white grandfather started the Angus seedstock its reproductive phase. If the paddocks get clover, cocksfoot herd in 1956 and we were running Poll too much bulk on them, we’ll put that pasture Dorset and White Suffolk seedstock along into silage, but I’d like to avoid that. Soil: with Merino ewes. The Merinos were MY GO-TO TOOLS AND RESOURCES: Varying, predominantly grey gradually replaced with crossbred ewes and I subscribe to MLA’s Friday Feedback sandy loam we phased out the sheep seedstock. Now e-newsletter and read my news on Twitter. we buy replacement ewes and everything I use the AgriWebb app to monitor stock Rainfall: has a terminal sire put over it. It keeps 620mm things simple, given the size of the flock. movements and calculate leaf emergence Prior to coming home to the farm, I studied to enable better feed budgeting. Following commerce and worked for an investment the Pasture Principles course, a number of ACTIVITIES company in Melbourne. My partner Claire us established the Longford Red Meat Group OVER THE NEXT Burbury and I are into our third year leasing and we exchange a lot of information this way the property. Based on our learnings from also, in addition to running an MLA Producer TWO MONTHS: Demonstration Site. Lifetime Ewe Management and Pasture > Rotating sheep for a Principles courses, we’ve been steadily November weaning. increasing our stocking rates. We’re close Jock Hughes to town, which makes physical expansion info@cludennewry.com.au > Artificial insemination of cattle. difficult, so increasing intensity is an option – > Locking up grass seed although I’m tossing up whether to intensify AgriWebb crop paddocks and or look elsewhere. agriwebb.com irrigating. WHAT’S ON MY PLATE: MLA Market Reports Lambing and calving has wrapped up and mla.com.au/prices-markets our feeding over winter in the lead-up went MaiaGrazing to plan. We’re now lamb marking and boxing maiatechnology.com.au the ewes up. We aim to get the cattle onto NQ Dry Tropics a rising plane of nutrition ahead of artificial nqdrytropics.com.au insemination and joining. We’re looking to 18