ON FARM NORTHERN CATTLE SNAPSHOT: Kacie Lord Ardie and Kacie Lord, Nikko and Jade Lord, of older stock. Ardie had to Richmond and Tambo, keep selling cattle so we had Queensland enough feed. l employing an overseer andWe’re in the process of we want to make sure we get the right person because the job is quite intense. Most days we have cattle to move. It takes anyone around six months to get comfortable Three generations of the Lord family. with what’s happening. Area: Hopefully by Christmas, 240,000ha across OUR BUSINESS: their business ventures. we will have an overseer six properties When he was 19, Ardie went One of our daughters is installed and Ardie and I can into partnership with his developing an app for have some freedom. Enterprise: brother with their father’s the health care industry Backgrounding, breeding MY GO‑TO TOOLS support. In the 1980s, he and our other daughter is AND RESOURCES: and fattening bought his brother out and based in London working in We use KLR Marketing Livestock: acquired more properties event management. principles for some of Brahman‑cross cattle along the way. The As far as the farm business our decision‑making and acquisition of ‘Woodstock’ at goes, our approach is to MaiaGrazing for grazing and Pasture: Richmond was for our son keep maiden breeders at the animal management. We Spear grass, spinifex, stylos, Nikko and his wife Jade. home station, ‘Sutherland’. now have fast connectivity Wynn cassia in the north, We’re very conscious they’re Our northern country is around the house and sheds Mitchell and Flinders grass the next generation and we tough on maiden heifers, so at Sutherland and that’s in the south have to set them up so they we don’t send them up there been the greatest thing that Soil: can fly in the business. until they’re pregnant with ever happened. Mechanics Downs country with One of our goals has their second calves. We bring working in the shed can limestone ridges running been to set ourselves our weaners back down now order parts, access to gidgee country and up financially to go into from the northern properties YouTube for repair tutorials, sandy bauhinia business with our kids, and and they’re sorted here at and photograph and email these don’t have to be rural Sutherland, managed for a their purchase orders. Rainfall: period of time, then either We use a combination of 475mm/550mm businesses. We also support our two other children in grown out here or sent to the cloud‑based programs and southern block at Tambo. OneNote for the paddock WHAT’S ON OUR PLATE: notebook – it’s all paperless We’re at the dry end of for our accountant. ■ the year, preparing for our first‑round weaners. We ACTIVITIES OVER calf down our heifers in the THE NEXT TWO spring, which is unusual in MONTHS: the north. > feeding weaners We’ve started weaning > putting the bulls in in preparation for the wet with the main breeder season. After the wet season, herd at Sutherland we do a feed budget, then work out how many livestock > re‑furrowing and units we can run until we re‑watering some of get what is supposed to be our irrigation country substantial rain, usually in for the weaners. February. This year got tight because we had just bought Ardie and Kacie Lord Woodstock. We had another E: kacie@lordpastoral. 2,500 weaners, so it meant a lot of juggling getting rid com.au 15