ON FARM NORTHERN CATTLE SNAPSHOT: Jane Sale Jane and Haydn Sale, Kimberley, WA running out of grass. We mustering. Normally, we’d l struck our first agreementwith our Indigenousand finish in September, butstart mustering in late April neighbours. We employ their while it hasn’t been as bad community members – they as in the east, we’ve had a have first right of refusal of really dry year. This year we any jobs that come up. It’s started mustering in March a good structure. Because and sold cattle at lighter of our record, we’ve had weights. We pulled the a lot of interest in helping calves off the cows early and other stations set up similar separated the bulls to help Area: agreements with their the cows maintain condition. Approximately 1,619,000ha neighbours. In 2017, we These calves needed more across several stations and sold the business to an care so they went onto a Indigenous sub‑leases OUR BUSINESS: overseas‑based owner pellet until they were big We built the business from and we’ve stayed on to enough to go out onto Enterprise: scratch with two investment pastures. We’re trying to Breeding and backgrounding manage the property while partners. We started with continuing to expand. finish the work before it gets cattle a 355,000ha bare block at too hot, because everything Livestock: ‘Yougawalla’ in 2008, four Currently, we run about just gets harder to manage. 50,000 Brahman/ hours from the nearest small 50,000 cattle across seven We’re also developing more Droughtmaster town, with no buildings or properties, which increases country; putting in new water infrastructure. It had one to 60,000 at peak times. points and new fences. Pasture: fence around two‑thirds Most of the cattle (80–90%) Spinifex and annual grasses, of it, three watering points are for live export. They’re MY GO‑TO TOOLS buffel and curly spinifex on and 800 cattle. In the first kept entire because this AND RESOURCES: river blocks, Mitchell, bundle two years we put in 300km produces a leaner beef and In August, I became a bundle and blue grass of fencing and 50 water that’s what the Vietnamese member of the Pastoral points. It took longer than we and Indonesian markets Lands Board. The Soil: imagined – we planned for want. It can be challenging to two‑monthly meetings Desert country is red sand five years and it went to 10 – manage a breeder herd but are a great way to keep over clay, and river country is but it allowed us to expand. we do it by keeping them in on top of what’s going on clay loam and into white clay separate mobs on different at a state level. That’s my Our first sub‑lease came stations. The remaining main networking. We also Rainfall: when the live export ban have a great Department 350mm–550mm (ranges was put in place. The 10–20% go to the domestic of Agriculture and Food between properties) ongoing effect of this was abattoir market. in WA and we work with the inability to sell projected WHAT’S ON OUR PLATE: them a bit. Everyone is Jane Sale calf numbers, so we were We’ve recently finished pretty connected. ■ E: jane.sale@bigpond. com ACTIVITIES OVER THE NEXT TWO MONTHS: > putting the bulls back out with the breeders > putting out supplements (dry season lick) > continued development of water and roads. 16