A DRAMATIC seasonal turnaround delivered by more than 400mm (16in) of rain since Christmas has revived a multi coloured, composite cattle breeding program on the Campbell family's Gin Gin district property The Nine Mile.
Using crosses of Charolais, Angus and Brahman cattle, the project now is run by Doug Campbell and his wife Sue who have taken over running The Nine Mile since the semi retirement of noted local grazing identity and land developer Bill Campbell, Doug's father.
Through this composite cross, the family is targeting the premium edge of the Japanese market with what Bill describes as 'flat backed cattle' that the Japanese want.
Worthy of a far larger family dynasty story that eventually will be written, the Campbells of Gin Gin go back to Hugh in Scotland, then his son Hugh who came to Australia, his son James who was Mayor of Toowoomba in 1887, then Joseph, his son Tom and his son Bill, making Bill the fifth generation of the family in Australia, and Doug, son of Bill and his wife Pam, as the sixth.
In 1923 Bill's father Tom acquired Kolonga on the Kolan River from former owner Catholic Archbishop Duhig, the holding then covering 25,110 hectares (62,000 acres).
Tom had specialised in Herefords and again fast forwarding the story, he split up the large holding into blocks of about the same cattle carrying capacity for each of his sons, Peter, Bruce (now deceased), Jim and Bill with provision also made for their sister Anne.
The Kolonga section of the property was split between Peter, Jim and Bill and later, as Bill wound down his activity, his son Doug took over Bill's portion of Kolonga, now called The Nine Mile and covering about 4000ha and including the Monduran dam impounded by the Fred Haigh Dam on the Kolan watercourse.
Cattle breeding started to change in the 1970s when Bill put in Brahman bulls, much to his father's disgust.
During the 1974 to 78 beef slump Bill cut railway sleepers to keep up cash flow and started to realise the value of the property's abundant timber resources in value adding.
Around that time Bill experimented with different breeds including Africanders and Belmont Reds that proved unsuitable for his needs so he returned to Brahmans, but further study of the Japanese market encouraged him to breed what he called 'flat backed' cattle.
As a result of further crossing experiments Doug, with the help of Bill, now runs a multi coloured herd of cattle in hues ranging from black to white and everything in between.
They have built up this composite mix with Charolais from Boyd Harms, Myall Stud, Roma, Angus from Rimfire and Burenda Studs and the ideal Brahmans he wants from Bill and Lyn Dahlheimer's Tangalooma Stud, Brigalow. Suitable herd bulls from the crossing program are sold and the best heifers are kept back to breed.
A high priority in the view of Bill and Doug is to buy top quality bulls. "If you invest in good bulls that deliver the right results you will never regret it," Bill said.
The composite breeding program on The Nine Mile is supported by an imaginative improved pasture mix established over the years. These species include Siratro, signal grass, katambora Rhodes and fine stem stylo - now the dominant legume.
The Campbells also are having success with species including seca stylo, bisset and hatch blue grass and a very good legume Barcoo joint vetch.
The cattle joining program puts bulls into the cows herd from October to March so that the bulk of calves are on the ground before Christmas. After weaning the steers destined for market are put onto good pasture until they reach premium finish. Depending on the seasons, other lines of weaners are sold straight off their mothers through Toogoolawah yards.
The finished bullocks, with the 'flat back' body shape that Bill and Doug consider most marketable, can be taken through to six tooth, even a few to eight tooth for consignment on a weight and grade basis to Teys works in Rockhampton from April to July, earning prices at the peak up to $3.05/kg liveweight.
The enterprise safely runs up to 650 Angus, Charolais and Brahman composite crosses on the property's 4455ha. Following the recent good rain to boost pastures, the Campbells now can be assured of carrying their prime bullocks on good feed well into the winter.
But they have too much grazing nous to gamble on heavier stocking in the short term.
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