FAST tracking his Brahman operation by 30 years, Ray Vella's journey into the stud world is off to a flying start, with the purchase of the entire NCC herd paving the way for a venture into a new beef operation.
Subscribe now for unlimited access to all our agricultural news
across the nation
or signup to continue reading
The stud world was shaken when it heard NCC would disperse its entire herd in June, but Mr Vella knew he could trust the success of the genetics in the climate and jumped at the opportunity.
The Proserpine grazier of Breadalbane Plains has gone from a relatively new operation in the stud game, with 150 of his own bulls, to being at the top of the heap, to purchasing 720 head (consisting of breeding sires, the entire female herd, young sire aspirants, imported and frozen embryos and all IVF progeny) for an undisclosed price in February.
"In 10 years we'll hopefully start our own brand of (grass-fed Brahman) beef in the Whitsundays. We've founded the name 'Great Barrier Beef'," Mr Vella said.
"Fifty thousand people visit from (cruise) ships a year and we've got the islands. There's so much potential there for a beef market."
Last Friday night, the first truck of 140 NCC heifers was delivered, with a truck of yearlings set to arrive this week.
"Half these herd are direct from America. Now you don't have to go to America or around the world, they're right here on your doorstep," Mr Vella said.
"We've travelled around the world and we have probably have the best cattle...at our doorstep.
"It's probably one of the most iconic studs in Australia for the quality and I've got to give credit...(they've) bred the ultimate herd."
A low-input breed, that Mr Vella said had suffered a reputation for "bad temperament and bad carcase traits", is ideal for the high-rainfall environment.
"It's still around, as soon as you say the word 'Brahman', everyone sort of shies off. It's definitely changed in the last 30 years," he said.
"That's our goal; to show everyone how good they are in carcase traits and fertility and temperament. They've got all the attributes there to market a bit better and promote a lot more for what they are."
Mr Vella, wife Leah and children Kurt, Kayla and Beau, moved to the 10,000 acre property from Mackay four years ago, with his parents George and Jane, sister Patricia and sister-in-law Rata taking over operations at the family's 700 acre cattle and cane operation (with 150 Brahman) further south.
"We are a sugar cane and cattle operation...we roughly farm around 3300 acres and the rest is cattle country," he said.
"We have about 80,000 tonnes of sugar cane and 3000 head of commercial cattle and now roughly about 800 Brahman stud cattle.
"Cane and cattle work well with each other. If one is down the other one will be up... you have to be diverse in your business."
The Vellas do their own EBV plan themselves - utilising the knowledge Mr Vella acquired through a Nuffield scholarship, where he studied beef genetics and pasture management (sponsored by Meat Livestock Australia).
"Poll genetics is a big thing (for our future herd plans) and performance on carcase rates, fertility."
Mr Vella travelled around the world for 18 weeks, including a three-week stint in Brazil, learning to breed and measure bulls and applying those tools to his own estimated breeding estimates.
"(Doing that while) still having all the practical attributes there as well like temperament, feet, structure, fertility...as a proper guidance to take the risk out," he said.
"Just sort of all got to blend it into one and try and make the perfect animal. We're all after that perfect animal."
Culling for poor performance and selecting bulls that are "average over all traits rather than just one" for a more balanced beast, Mr Vella is focused on breeding low-input animals that can suit any environment.
Looking to the herd's future, Mr Vella said genomics are on the cards as well as an expansion to 5000 head of cattle alongside the introduction of leucaena and a feedlot system.
"More genomics and polled genetics in the herd and then really concentrate on that fertility," he said.
The Vellas first ventured into the stud world in 2013 at their former 18,000 acre property in Marlborough.
"To know the history of every animal...that's what sort of led me to my scholarship. I started breeding my own bulls and things were not adding up so I thought there has to be a better way to test these cattle and come up with a simple method...the main thing was accuracy...taking that risk factor out to improve accuracy," he said.
"Genomics in the future will eliminate a lot of that (inaccuracy)."
For 10 years, Mr Vella has used IVF or AI with his top two per cent.
Cattle are joined for 160 days with calving from September to the end of November.
"(The tropics are) one of the hardest environments to breed cattle in...(but) if you breed here...they can go west and adapt with ease," he said.
"Once we find a product...performing, we'll multiply it through IVF or AI.
"We're going to test our calving rates, find the top two per cent in the herd and replicate. The main goal is...to get the herd acclimatised and focus on what we want to do...(like achieving) a high joining rate and yearling mating with the top 10 per cent."
Mr Vella's quality stock will be on display at this year's Great Northern Brahman sale at the Proserpine showgrounds on October 25.
"We will offer 70 grey bulls and 40 grey heifers...Everything seemed to fall in place. it's exciting."
