Leading exporters provided first-hand insights into the industry’s daily balancing act between commercial pressures and community expectations, during LiveCorp’s seminar at Beef Australia in May 2021 (panel members are listed below). There is no ‘typical’ voyage in such a diverse industry, but the logistics involved are the same. The biggest cost to exporters is the […]
Written by Steph Coombes. “We’re going to do a killer, would you like to come?” “Sure!”, I replied enthusiastically. “I haven’t done a killer in years!” My enthusiasm wasn’t toward the prospect of killing an animal, but the opportunity to be involved in harvesting meat. I consider it to be an incredible privilege. Knives were […]
Written by Aticia Grey – Glenflorrie Station The hardest part is to know when it’s time to admit defeat. Zen & a young premature calf saved via cesarean & survived. Raising orphan calves is something we have always done here at Glenflorrie. My parents taught me early on the value of compassion and Dad would […]
Written by Connie Wood – Blina Station Being part of the management team at Blina, I wear many hats, one of these being the stand-in bore runner when we have been short staffed, or down to skeleton crew over the wet. This has meant that I’ve done more than a few miles on different occasions […]
Written by Stephanie Coombes – editor *Note: this article has been written so anyone, regardless of their background, can understand. Whilst I am not a veterinarian, I consulted with a number of practicing and policy veterinarians, as well as technicians from pharmaceutical companies during the research for this article. For a great technical summary on […]
Written by Mick Cameron – Overseer, Bulka Station My name is Mick Cameron. I, along with my partner Anna and two-year-old daughter Mackenzie, live and work on Bulka Station in the Kimberleys, Western Australia. In this blog I would like to talk about our early weaning program at Yougawalla Pastoral Company (YPC), its advantages, and […]
Host: Dr Jillian Kelly I often think that my job should be fictionalised into a TV show. I think I’d call it “CSI: Coonamble”. It probably wouldn’t be suitable for viewing anywhere near meal times, and maybe it wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but it would certainly be educational. You see, I’m a large animal […]
What happens when the vet is too far away to call? Host: Latrobe Station Written by Jody Brown One of the greatest privileges of life on the land is also the most humbling of responsibilities: to not only bear witness to life and death, but to be implicit in the circle of life. Animals will […]
Host: Mudgeacca Station Written by Claire Britton, Station Manager When I moved back to work for the folks at the end of 2013 I found myself as a proud owner of my first poddy calf pretty quick. I figured it wouldn’t be the last poddy I got, so I decided to name them in alphabetical […]
Host: Mudgeacca Station Written by Claire Britton, Station Manager We generally do two ‘rounds’ of mustering a year at Mudgeacca with our breeders. The first round always falls around Easter, just when the summer heat has had the edge knocked off of it – this makes it a bit more pleasant for both the cattle […]
Host: Dr Jillian Kelly Sometimes I feel like I’m part of the “CSI” team – investigating livestock illness and death and putting all the little pieces together – history, clinical signs, lab testing, and an examination of the paddock – to get a diagnosis and fix the problem. A while back I got called out by […]
Host: Dr Jillian Kelly Our district has been in a severe drought for a long period – many farmers have been hand feeding cattle and sheep for months, and in some unfortunate cases years. I spoke to one lady this morning in the hairdressers that has been hand feeding stock for five of the last seven […]
Host: Yarrie Station Written by Martha Lindstad – Stationhand, Yarrie Station. For the second time The Kimberley Pilbara Cattlemen’s Association and Yarrie Station had the privilege to host Pilbara Livestock Handling Cup here at Yarrie. It’s a competition that my boss Annabelle and her friend and livestock handling consultant, Boyd Holden, started last year. It […]
Host: Southampton Written by – Kylie Savidge, Owner, Southampton Station. Find part one of this article here. I have sat in the yards daily with a sick bull, hand feeding and watering him, pleading with him to hang on, hoping that we could save him only to lose him after three weeks of treatment, too […]
Host: Dr Jillian Kelly Many people wonder what I do each day, or why I need a beer at the end of each one! Here’s a typical day in the life of me! 6:30am: Leave home, headed to a farm that is in quarantine for footrot in sheep. Breakfast in the car! Plenty of time in […]
Host: Dr Jillian Kelly Back in my uni days, we were told repeatedly “when you hear the sound of hoofbeats, look for horses, not zebras”. Meaning that in veterinary science, common things happen commonly, so look for the obvious answer. Except for some days . . . A few years ago, I received a call from […]
Host: Dr Jillian Kelly A few months ago, we held the Coonamble Challenge and Campdraft, of which I’m secretary. That’s the thing about living and working in a rural area – everyone has to pitch in to help to get community events happening and you often find yourself on multiple committees! We’re a small committee […]
Host: Dr Jillian Kelly I’m a vet. A female large animal vet. An awesome vet – not because I can do things more awesomely than other vets, just because all female vets are awesome! Whenever I meet new people and am making the get-to-know-you small talk and I answer the question “what do you do for […]
Host: Robert Johnstone Many crush side conversations with ringers have entailed a deep discussion about what exactly I do when my arm is inside the rear end of a cow spaying or pregnancy testing. Generally, the questions or observations that are made include something along the lines of, ‘what you just put your hand in, roll […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Owner, Dampier Downs Station. There are endless ways for cattle to be classified when drafting in the yards. Some of the most common categories are: Breeders – mature cows whose job it is to have a calf hopefully every year. Heifers – young cows being […]
