The Boundary Rider’s Report November 2021

We are all going flat out on the farm at the moment! Nodding thistles are being sprayed - thank you Fi Higgins.  AI is done and dusted and coversires are all out.  We sold some cull cows to Bindaree and were very happy with the price received - the cattle market is holding well.  We were also very pleased with how they graded on the MSA scale. Tree plantings are underway and calf marking is next on our radar. Sheep manure sales at the mailbox are steady; the boys are truly appreciative of local community support in this project.  The farm cycle continues.

Joining : AI has just been completed for another year and our second round returns were low.   The cover sires are all out.  This year's cover sires include:

Bald Blair Quebec Q133, NBBQ133, a SPower Point son. 

Bald Blair Momentous R71, NBBR71, a VLYM518 son.

Bald Blair Momentous Q155, NBBQ155, another VLY M518 son has just gone to 5 IMF in the latest TACE Analysis, top 1% percentile in the breed,

Bald  Blair Proceed P194, NBBQ194, a proceed son, another high marbling pedigree.

The AI and cover sire joinings are being entered into HerdMaster http://herdmaster.abri.une.edu.au/ . 

Thank you again to the team at Bovine Breeders, Peter & Fayette Brown, Emma, Georgie and Erica.  We really appreciate all your support - often at short notice!

StayDry Beta Breed: This year we have been using StayDry Beta Breed, which is a waterproof lick powder nutritional supplement for cattle and sheep. It is a self-limiting supplement designed to improve fertility by alleviating deficiencies of macro minerals, trace minerals as well as key vitamins prior to joining. Reported benefits include:

• Improved hormone synthesis for cycling
• Improved progesterone synthesis for maintenance of pregnancy
• Better follicle quality
• Reduced early embryo mortality
• Increased sperm production (rams and bulls)

Key nutrients include:

• Vitamin A: Essential for growth and vision. Critical for male and female reproduction processes
• beta-Carotene: Precursor of Vitamin A and vital for reproduction function and performance
• Vitamin D3: Absorption and homeostasis of calcium and phosphorus in the animal. Essential for bone health and regulation of immune cells
• Trace elements: Includes selenium, copper and zinc to optimise reproductive function

For more information check out https://growsolutions.elanco.com/products/staydry-beta-breed

2022 Bull Sale Team: The R stud bulls. We have an autumn R bulls group and spring R bull group. We have pulled out the best R bulls to use as cover sires for our own herd, both stud & commercial.  The autumn group are growing out well at the front paddock of Bald Blair, rotating between paddocks.  The spring group are rotating out in another section of the Bald Blair.  All on improved pastures with bloat licks out.  Maintaining a very close eye on these animals and watching their vaccination status for regular 5n1 treatment to manage through this stage.  All stock are doing well.

Pastures: We have sprayed out one paddock for silage hay recently. We will be planting silage sorghum again this year in the Lagoon pdk on Bald Blair.  Last year's silage sorghum paddock “40 Acres'' will be planted with a diverse species of perennials in February 2022.  Our existing pastures have been dressed with super - thank you Dan Klabe Ground Spreading.  We understand that super is in short supply, not to mention delivery dramas, and are very grateful for what we have received and that Dan has been able to spread. The seed bank is being replenished rapidly with this very favourable season and low stock numbers and our paddocks are recovering extremely well.  Thank you Paul Harris - our local Elders agronomist. Thank you Jim Lenenhan - Lenehan Contracting.

Commercial Semen Sires: 

We are very pleased to offer a selection of Bald Blair Angus sires that are suitable for commercial breeders.  These bulls have been used in our own stud herd as cover sires.  We offer access to these bulls for commercial AI purposes. 

These sires have been DNA – parent assured so you can be 100% confident they are by the sire and Dam recorded.  We have a limited number of straws available now, however depending on demand we will be able to get more.  Please see link to order form if you are interested. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSepij9nYb8bu0XRzci90zjt3kx4iErWdiszSck0dZR3gboO_Q/viewform?usp=sf_link

Bald Blair Quebec NBBQ133 (PV)

This homegrown sire has been retained in our own herd.  He represents a good outcross calving ease pedigree, with positive rump & rib fat and an IMF in the top 5% of the breed. He was not offered for sale this year; our intention is to retain him in the herd.  Bald Blair Quebec Q133(PV) is a Herdbook bull out of S Powerpoint WS5503.  He is in the top 1% of the breed for Calving Ease Daughters, top 5% Birthweight plus he is +3.9 for IMF.

https://angus.tech/enquiry/animal/result?page=1&tql=id%20is%20%27NBBQ133%27&sortColumnId=id&sortOrder=asc&title=&baseType=all&base=&pv=

Bald Blair Momentous NBBR71 (PV)

This homegrown sire has been retained in our own herd.  He has good calving ease coupled with good growth, low mature cow weight plus great carcase attributes, with IMF in top 5% of the breed also.  He will not be offered for sale at our on property bull sale next year and will be retained for our stud use. R71 is a Lawsons Momentous M518 son out of an Ayrvale Bartel E7 daughter still in the herd.

https://angus.tech/enquiry/animal/result?page=1&tql=id%20is%20%27NBBR71%27&sortColumnId=id&sortOrder=asc&title=&baseType=all&base=&pv=

Fencing: Taylor McDonald and his team are working hard on replacing and realigning our fences.  Types of fencing installed - 7 plain wire, with barb on top and electric standout.  Maxi and normal steels.  The fencing of the riparian zone will be completed soon and ready for tree planting.

Lambing marking : A huge thank you to our lamb marking team - young and old.  This year we introduced the use of “Numbuts” https://numnuts.store/about-numnuts/ Thank you to Guyra District Veterinary Services for providing us with the applicator and pain relief drugs.  Numnuts is a tool that applies a standard rubber ring to cut off blood supply, while at the same time, adding the functionality of targeted pain relief via a novel multi-stage injection mechanism.  We have updated our lamb marking checklist and system.  We intend to make this part of our ongoing management system, pain relief is and extremely important to us.  The lambs mothered well, many suckling their mothers within miniutes of marking. 

Tree Planting: A huge thank you to Steph Sweeney and Simon for planting 750 native trees in our new and existing tree guards.  Thank you also to the Black Mountain Nursery for supplying the Wattle leaf peppermint, Mountain Gum, White Gum, New England Peppermint, Snow gum, Black Sallee, Silver Wattle , Fern Leaf Wattle , Common Tea Tree.  We have one new tree guard on the main road to be planted.  While we planted trees in February last year (remember Guyra Show Dodgem incentives) they did not survive due to the frosts and wet!  Steph and Simon have revisited these tree guards and replaced any trees that did not survive.  Sam has also planted some established Elm trees in the ram paddock and plans to plant more shortly.Fingers crossed planting at this time of the year will enable the seedlings to establish better before the first frosts next year.  Hopefully we have had our last frosts this year.

Activities over the next month:

• Fencing
• Calf marking
• Weed spraying
• Releasing rainbow trout.

Bald Blair Public School Little Free Library - take a book - return a book

We are really thrilled to be part of the Bald Blair Public School Little Free Library project. The little free library concept was something Kirsty came across near Yeppoon QLD in 2020 and thought it would be ideal for our community.  The idea is to set up a small cabinet, fill it with donated books suitable for adults and children.  When avid readers visit the cabinet they can take a book and return a book.  So simple.  We hear the school students love it and are making the most of finding a great book to read - sometimes something they would not normally pick up.  Thank you to John Jackson, a Guyra Mens Shed member for building the cabinet from marine ply, Rod Ramange and Ramage Engineering for providing the steel post, Abbott White and Jack McCook for digging the hole and Sam White for installation. Thank you to the Guyra Library & community for book donations.  Thank you to the Bald Blair community for taking a book and returning a book.

Bald Blair Angus: The Data Breeder

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-data-breeder-by-bald-blair-angus/id1574009246

On the Data Breeder, we talk about how to use data to make better genetic selection decisions.

We will be recording some more episodes next year - so if you have any suggestions please let us know.

Kelly’s Cottage: 

Kelly’s Cottage is open!  We were delighted to host our recent guests and if you are looking for a farm stay, please consider us - check out available dates at: https://www.baldblairangus.com.au/farm-stay-with-airbnb

Please enjoy reading this fantastic blog post by Amanda Woods - all about visiting Guyra https://adventuresallaround.com/guyra-guide-new-england-nsw/

Rosie-May Blue - Mayhem at the Pet Show

Our neighbour Prudy Woods has written and published a gorgeous book Rosie-May Blue - Mayhem at the Pet Show .  The story goes….. Rosie-May Blue and her family have just moved to the township of Waterfall Way. When Rosie-May’s pony, Carrie, goes missing, Rosie-May fears for the worst. Her newfound friend Ellie is a comfort at her new school and together, they share a love of horse-riding. However, will their friendship survive the secret that Rosie-May uncovers? Will the secret spoil Rosie-May’s chance at winning a prize at the Waterfall Way Pet Show? Saddle up and join Rosie-May and Ellie for their first adventure together at Waterfall Way. 

Please check it out  - it is ideal for Christmas https://www.rosiemayblue.com/  

Bald Blair Angus Merchandise: We have renewed our merchandise stock and have hand towels restocked.  Enamel mugs will be arriving soon and we have ordered new trucking caps.  They are available to order on our website store now.

Contact us: Sam White 0438 792 140  or Kirsty White 0427 722 908