MURRAY Greys are the pick of the litter for Wannamal farmers Errol and Brenden Howard.
This father-son team work together on a 1760 hectare property which runs a large pig operation, a cattle and sheep enterprise and a cropping program.
While the main income for the business comes from the piggery the Howards clearly show an affiliation and passion for their cattle.
Errol and Brenden believe Murray Greys are one of the better breeds in Australia and currently run a herd of 200 Murray Grey infused breeders.
"There is just something about the Murray Greys," Errol said.
"They have such a beautiful temperament and nature and you rarely ever get a grumpy one."
Brenden said they were also efficient growers and easy to sell.
The Howards started with cattle in 1996, originally stocking a Shorthorn Hereford, Simmental breeding herd with a Red Angus and Murray Grey bull.
Errol said not long after they began with cattle he saw the value in the Murray Grey progeny and since then started to buy only Murray Grey bulls.
"Over time the breeding herd has become more and more pure and we haven't looked back," Errol said.
Errol and Brenden have a self-replacing herd selecting 30 heifers each year to put back into the breeding program.
Although they have recently purchased some Red and black Angus cows at the Gingin sales they both agree that Murray Greys will always be a part of their cattle enterprise.
"The Angus crosses will give us another dimension to our marketing options," Brenden said.
"But we will never get rid of the Murray Greys.
"There is such a good demand for them out there and we have never had any trouble selling them."
The calves are sold at 8-9 months old to the feeder market in December.
"We get them to 290kg and they are sold straight off their mums," Brenden said.
Although the Howards rarely sell their calves through the yards, preferring to sell them direct to the buyer or through an agent, they think it is important to keep updated on all the markets that are available.
"We also sometimes use the export market if the price is right and we have the right kind of cattle available," Brenden said.
"We signed an export contract last year, which is the first we have had in a while, but we just try to keep on top of what is happening so we can get the best price."
Traditionally most of the Howards calves are sold locally and the cull cows are sold direct to the Gingin processing plant.
To meet the feeder market in December, Errol and Brenden join the bulls late June or early July where they are kept in for 10-12 weeks.
Each bull is joined to 35-40 cows which are all run as separate mobs.
"We usually have about five or six separate mobs at mating for the 200 breeders," Brenden said.
"This keeps the bulls from fighting and after about four to six weeks we take those bulls out, box two mobs together and put a back-up bull in."
By having a back-up bull introduced to the cows Errol and Brenden achieve a 90 per cent average conception rate.
The heifers are also run as a separate mob and are joined with a low birthweight bull that comes from the Howards own breeding stock.
"We always keep a few of our own bulls just to put over the heifers to open them up and to also use as back-ups," Errol said.
Once the back-up bulls are removed the cows stay in their boxed mobs through calving and the calves are marked as soon as they are born so correct records can be kept.
Errol and Brenden buy the majority of their bulls from the Monterey stud in Karridale which they both say is the standout Murray Grey breeder in WA.
"We have always worked well with the stud and they produce some top quality genetics," Errol said.
"They also have a large selection to choose from and we can always find something we like."
The visual conformation of the bull is extremely important when selecting sires for their herd but the milk production and growth rate EBVs also play a large role in the selection process.
"We do look at birthweight as well but because we put our own smaller bulls over the heifers we don't need to worry too much about that," Errol said.
"Plus the Murray Greys don't really seem to have calves that are too big.
"Their natural ease of calving is another reason why we have stuck with them over the years and since we have been with Murray Greys we haven't had to pull a calf from a cow."
Brenden and Errol aim to sell 150 calves every year and in December 2011 they received 260c/kg for the steers and 235c/kg for the heifers.
Errol said it had been more than 10 years since prices had been that high.
"It is about time too," he said.
"People have to start realising that if they want good food they are going to have to pay good money.
"Primary producers can't be expected to keep working for minimum wages so it is good to see the prices up where we can start making a bit of money."
In the future Errol and Brenden are planning to bring their mating forward a few weeks into early June and cut the joining time from 10-12 weeks back to nine weeks to get a more even spread.
With an operation that includes 8000 grower pigs, 300 crossbred sheep, 200 Murray Greys and a cropping enterprise, Errol and Brenden certainly have their work cut out for them.
But this impressive list of business ventures hasn't stopped them from remaining passionate about all aspects of their farm and in particular their cattle.
"We do get the majority of our income from the pigs but I can never see us getting out of cattle," Errol said.
"We invested quite a bit in the infrastructure for the cattle and we produce some pretty good stock.
"The main thing for us is to continue to improve the genetics of the herd."
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