2022 Year In Review
February 15, 2023
2022 at Bar H Grazing was a significant year for the team and business. It saw the crew move from strength to strength and focus on establishing a strong foundation for years to follow. It was a year dedicated to the future of the business – seeing multiple projects that have been in the pipeline come to fruition and pave the way forward for years to follow.
This newsletter celebrates the one-year anniversary of the ‘Bar H Grazing Seasonal Newsletter’, which we believe reflects the focus of the business.
As a team we,
- Improved the River Lea infrastructure significantly
- Split Paddocks
- Added several new coolers and lane ways
- Put in new troughs and water points
- Built several new sheds
- Planted River Lea’s first crop of Oats
- Enhanced the Artificial Breeding programs at River Lea
- Held 5 fixed time AI programs
- Held 3 IVF programs
- Held 2 embryo programs
- Hosted 2 female Auctions – selling a total of 535 females to several different purchasers around the country
- Purchased SPWFR153 Sahara Park All Bets Black from Sahara Park Wagyu at the 2022 AWA Elite Wagyu Sale
- We successfully sold 83 Full Blood Sires and executed multiple lease agreements
- Received carcass data back on 615 animals – all of which are under ongoing analysis
- Significantly grew the team at River Lea, welcoming several new faces as permanent and contracting staff
- Finalised 3D mapping the River Lea property
- Attended the 2022 RNA Paddock to Plate event, where we won first place in the Class 39 Taste Off, and won the Class 39 Reserve Champion Carcass
- Were apart of Taste of Australia with Hayden Quinn – in partnership with CHDC
- Said Farewell to HAWFC0567 – at 15.5 years old, the gentleman of River Lea passed away
- Said Farewell to the property Horse Creek – home to where the Hornery family first started breeding Wagyu
2022 set a standard for 2023, what was extraordinary last year will be ordinary this year. We as a team at Bar H Grazing are excited to build upon the hard work from last year, with a number of exciting projects already in the pipeline, and we can’t wait to share our journey into the New Year.
Other Posts
PAPFH1144 was purchased by Bar H Grazing from Trelinga’s David Peak as a twelve-month-old weaner bull at the end of 2013. He was purchased for his genetic makeup – a heavy maternal cow base being 40/1, over Haruki 2, over Kikuhana – all of that complemented by TF148 who consistently allows his females foundations to perform, the way they’re meant to.
In a world where monetary value is significantly weighted as the key indicator of success, it can sometimes become difficult to remind ourselves that progress comes before value. It is important for us as cattle producers, businesspeople, as well as parents and friends to learn how to measure key indicators of progress.
As a business we receive a lot of questions from other Wagyu producers about how they go about taking the next step to submitting DNA and registering cattle. The first thing that we tell them is;
If you take a drive through River Lea during a muster, odds are you will see dogs working with our operations team on horseback, getting the job done. I sat down with our Operations Supervisor Andrew Jansen to talk about why we use this tried and true method of working dogs and horses and the benefits that we reap from this combination.
Morphology is a multipurpose tool that provides a variety of benefits to suit the individual needs of your enterprise. A motility score is a familiar semen test and provides some related information however morphology represents a very important part of a bull breeding soundness evaluation (BBSE) (Australian Cattle Vets Association, 2013).
Recipient cattle used in embryo transfer programs, vary from herd to herd and can be difficult to calculate. The appropriate sorts of recipient cattle in our herd differ, and their importance is significant, in some opinions more than donor cattle, since this is the animal that’s required to conceive the embryo, carry it to full term, and raise the calves (Lamb & Mercadante, 2017).
Prepare, perform, and persevere. These 3 P’s were the running theme of the Young Beef Producers Forum held at Roma in mid-November, attended by three members of our team. Amongst all the informative speakers, a key takeout was the necessity of preparation. Whilst this is far from being a foreign concept, it is a tool that can be continually implemented and improved on.
In the Bar H Grazing Autumn Newsletter, we wrote about the process of making the staff at River Lea replaceable, and the value we have found it to have in our business. The different technological tools we use on-farm have assisted us in doing so.
We have employed the principles of data collection at River Lea, only capturing data we can utilise and act on. Technology for us is only a tool not something we rely on. Labour has been a major beneficiary in having access to technology all over the property. Not only monitoring water supply, but also pinpointing the location of an issue - we can be notified instantly.
I was playing the long game when I decided to purchase some F1 Angus from New South Wales, with the intention to create Bar H Poll foundations. These Wattle Top Angus Wagyu heifers mixed with the natural Polled Bos Indicus females already in our herd would set the basis for us. Using known genetics over these females gives me confidence in producing Bar H Purebred Poll Wagyu with data I can touch. It has been proven to me that Wagyu has the ability to have the full package - in production and carcase with welfare.
Over the past few years, there has been a noticeable shift toward the beef industries understanding and investing in ‘Brand Marketing’, and in turn, seen the positive impact in consumer/supply chain relationships. The brand on the hip of an animal has always been identified as the trademark of many beef producing businesses and worn with a sense of pride, as to us, the producer, this brand indicates the generations hard work and commitment to the animals it represents. However, the marketing of this brand to the consumer in the past has been somewhat lacking.
