Farm Manager

Dairy and beef herds calving.

It is always an exciting but nervous time of year when the new calves begin to arrive. The hope is all cows will calve without trouble and the new life will start frolicking around the paddock. So far there are a lot of calves doing well with their mothers, however we have had some normal challenges. Several sets of twins have tricked farm staff and one Angus cow having trouble calving because the calf was coming rear-end first. This just doesn’t work, and farm staff had to adjust the calf and deliver it backwards known as a breech birth. The calf lived and is doing well.

Cattle and Sheep Clubs.

After school on Wednesdays students are invited to attend Cattle and Sheep Clubs where they participate in livestock handling and preparation. At this time of year livestock are being prepared for Wagin Woolorama with stud Simmental heifers and bulls being broken in. Likewise in the shearing shed the College’s Corriedale ewe and ram hoggets have been selected and are being handled.

Viticulture position filled. 

We are pleased to have Mr John Cosby employed in the Viticulture position. Mr Cosby demonstrates excellent practical skills and is willing to participate in machinery and livestock duties. It is exciting to have staff on site who can be versatile across a wide range of areas. 

In the vineyard itself, operations have quickly been managed by Mr Cosby with spraying and bird netting considered a priority with damage occurring overnight.

Preparation for the season ahead.

Fertiliser and seed has been ordered with a similar seeding program as 2022. A similar blend using higher rates of potash and manganese seemed to be successful with last years crops. Soil tests have been carried out with pleasing results for PH, however lime will still be applied at 1200kg/ha to soils under 5.5. We are waiting on a comprehensive nutrient analysis to determine special needs for this year's pastures. 

Livestock enterprises.

After such a successful 2022 bull sale, prices have come back to reality, however all bulls were sold on the day with an average price of $6700.00. Another bull was sold privately, and two tail enders went to Mt Barker.

With a moderated market we did purchase a pen of seven PTIC Angus cows for a reasonable price of $2750.00. They were not the fattest cows in the sale, however, since getting to Denmark, having a drench, and some minerals their appearance has been transformed. They are due to calve in March to May. All beef cows have been administered a rumen bolus.

We also bought an Angus bull with a low birthweight to service the maiden heifers. At $6500.00 this bull presented quite good value.

Sheep News

Merino ewes have been shorn this week using students, a slow drawn-out exercise. We purchased 135 store lambs in Katanning recently and they are now on grain in the Feedlot trial. Very low numbers of quality merino wether stores made the task challenging. The lambs have been tagged and weighed and administered a drench and vitamin injection. The lambs are fed on grain pellets from Kojonup Feeds and will be monitored for growth rate and weight gain.

New Culvert on the East Block

During the holidays farm staff rebuilt a large culvert road crossing on the East Block. The crossing had been washed out during the winter wet period and the road was disappearing. Mr Skipper, Mr Marshall and Mr Schulz spent many hours carefully excavating the old culvert, installing large concrete head walls and a heavy duty plastic pipe. With the company of a very large tiger snake, the installation was complete with gravel filling the gap and being formed up as the road. Guard rails were installed each side and a post and rail fence was constructed. This type of infrastructure improvement will no doubt last for many years to come.

New Case Tractor

A new 2022 Case Puma 180 was delivered recently. The tractor is in exchange for the 2019 model used by the farm. The new machine is fitted with wide radial tyres providing improved paddock floatation in the wet and, hopefully, a little less paddock wheel damage. It comes with upgraded GPS and auto steer technology and is a welcome addition to the farm's fleet of machinery.