GENETICS d nature for fat helps our ewes to lay down fat. It’s like carrying a lunch box with them during winter.” Selecting strictly for these traits for the past four years has seen the number of lambs weaned increase by more than 30%. More recently, the focus has spread to moderating mature ewe weight. “At 16 months old, our ewes are 75kg with 35kg twins on them, ” he said. Cattle tactics Their approach to Angus breeding is equally measured. “Again, the first thing I look at is phenotype; a breeder needs to look good, have a good udder and be structurally sound so that when our calves go into feedlots for 300–400 wants a 500kg carcase with as much SNAPSHOT: days, they’re structurally sound as marbling as possible so, in terms of well,” Andrew said. EBVs, that’s 400 and 600 days and IMF. Andrew and Sarah Carruthers, A moderate parental birth weight is New England, NSW “In selecting on all these traits, S non‑negotiable. “It’s directly related we’ve seen our end product over to live calves,” Andrew said. the past four years go up one whole “I won’t buy a bull over a birth weight AUS‑MEAT score (for marbling) across Estimated Breeding Value (EBV) the Angus program. of +5.5kg. “In our F1 beef program, we’ve “Even if you join, for example, a bull been able to increase and maintain with a birth weight EBV of +7kg, that weaning weights, improve our heifer heavier birth weight can still be conception to 92%, keep our cow expressed through the heifers, and conceptions over 90% and use our that’s something we want to avoid.” bulls at a ratio of 1:70.” ■ Area: 2,632ha (across four properties from To ensure herd efficiency, Andrew has Wollomombi to Baldersleigh) strict parameters on cow size. More information Enterprise: “We want a moderate cow size; we Angus beef for domestic market, won’t go over a mature cow weight Andrew Carruthers E: adc@adcommodities. F1 Wagyu for livestock exports to EBV of +110kg, which is sometimes hard Japan, Lambpro prime lambs for to balance with growth rates,” he said. com.au domestic trade “Larger cows are more expensive to run. Watch Andrew tell the story of genetic progress in Livestock: “We keep an eye on milk; it must be his herd 1,000 Angus breeders; 50 F1 Wagyu above breed average, then we look breeders; 2,000 Lambpro ewes at what the client wants, which is genetics.mla.com.au/ good 400 and 600‑day weights and temperate Pasture: marbling for eating quality.” Natives and improved, ryegrass, Andrew won’t go below 2 on IMF fescues, clovers (intramuscular fat; the EBV for marbling). Soil: “We work closely with customers and Fine granite, trap and basalt end users. They’re open in telling us what they need,” he said. Rainfall: 850–1,000mm “For example, the Japanese market 9