BREEDING PHILOSOPHY

Our focus is to breed genetically superior bulls which have been well recorded and evaluated for the commercial beef industry.

Even though a small herd we run our cow herd under strict commercial conditions, run on a native country with no supplementary feeding. The entire herd is AI’ed to breed leading performance sires and allowed six weeks with a yearling back up bull. All empty females are culled, and often 2nd round natural pregnancy animals are sold on as well. We see calving ease as one of the weaknesses of the whiteface breed and thus any animal which requires assistance at calving is removed from the herd.

We are a July calving cow herd which ideally fits in with the pasture growth pattern of our area but also allows us to market 14 month old bulls in the August - September each year.

Due to the poor quality of our breeder country we early wean our calves. This allows us to give our younger stock opportunity to express their genetic merit with an improved nutritional regime. It also allows us to run our cow herd at a higher stocking rate and thus push the selection on their commercial suitability. We are big believers that our cattle need to be productive in the environments they will be exposed to by our commercial clients – we do this by placing selection pressure based on fertility at commercially relevant stocking rates on our mature cow herd.

We endeavour to provide our younger stock with every opportunity to express their genetic potential through appropriate yet not excessive nutrition. With targets of 320kg for 14 month heifers to ensure adequate cycling activity prior to joining to calve as two year olds. Any heifers that do not get in calf in the 6 week window are culled immediately. Once preg tested positive heifers are continued on a level plane of nutrition to ensure they continue to develop as well as their pregnacies. In the the third trimester their nutrition is controlled to avoid over fat heifers and large calf weights which will potentially cause calving difficulties.

Bulls are grown out ensuring that they are physically ready to work but at the same time not so heavy their weights will lead to break downs. All bulls are independently scanned, structurally assessed and vet checked along with all the relevant vaccinations including, 7 in 1, vibrio and pestiguard. We also endeavour to service test our bulls to ensure they have the required libido and technique to service cows.

Bulls are vet checked and fertility tested by Dr Seumas McKillop (02) 60 362 374.

Bulls and heifers are carcase scanned and structurally assessed by Liam Cardile, Xcel Beef 0409 572 570

At Tobruk we are very conscious of our after sales service and the fact that the point of sale is only the beginning of a long and prosperous relationship with our clients. We welcome all forms of feed back and if we can provide any further assistance with your programme we are more than happy to be involved.