PALGROVE has earned its stripes as a leader in its breeds and the wider beef industry, with more than five decades breeding high performing, highly profitable cattle.
The business operates Charolais and Ultrablack herds with more 7000 registered cattle across properties in Queensland and northern NSW.
The focus at Palgrove, which has 53 years’ experience breeding seedstock and commercial cattle, has always been to add profit along all points of the supply chain – for the breeder, the backgrounder, the lotfeeder and the processor.
The team at Palgrove sells bulls to a range of clients in every state and territory, and the scale of the operation allows them to breed and select bulls to best suit each client’s needs and target markets.
The sale of more than 1000 bulls throughout 2021 highlights the stud’s influence in the commercial beef industry.
Palgrove genetics are available for private sale and through two auctions each year, with the 2022 sales on Friday, June 3, at Scone in the Hunter Valley, NSW, and Friday, September 9, on-property at Dalveen, Queensland.
“While cattle prices are high our input costs and land prices have also increased significantly – I believe this is why it’s important to breed cattle that give you flexibility in market options,” general manager Ben Noller said.
“Our breeding focus has always been about the key profit drivers for a commercial beef operation and that is fertility and early turn-off.
“So the cow has a calf every year, the progeny grow fast, fatten easily and they’re high yielding.”
HERD IMPROVERS: Palgrove began breeding Ultrablacks 13 years ago and the stud has had a big impact in northern herds, with good demand for the breed.
Palgrove’s profit-focused breeding philosophy has been backed up with the business winning the prestigious RNA Paddock to Palate competition for an unprecedented four consecutive years.
The three-phase competition measures feedlot performance, carcase quality and eating quality through Meat Standards Australia grading.
“We firmly believe the consistency of these results doesn’t come from selecting the right steers for the competition – it’s from decades of strict selection for efficient cattle with superior performance that is now firmly entrenched in the Palgrove DNA,” Mr Noller said.
To better understand and benchmark its genetics within industry, Palgrove has always been committed to measuring and identifying high performing cattle and multiplying them in numbers.
A key performance indicator in the Palgrove stud herd is to achieve more than 50 per cent of all calves born to be conceived by either artificial insemination (AI) or embryo transfer (ET).
This was achieved in the 2021-drop of calves with more than 1500 calves conceived through these practices.
“Our goal is to provide superior, well-researched, high performing genetics, backed by science and data that improve performance, and profitability to Australian beef producers,” Mr Noller said.
ELITE GENETICS: Palgrove’s Hunter Valley bull sale Draft 2022
The business has gone through a big transition over the past five years, with management of the stud transferring from David and Prue Bondfield to the Palgrove team.
“Over the past five years I have had the knowledge of David to help guide me in the selection processes and running of a large scale seedstock operation and am confident that we can now continue Palgrove on into the future,” Mr Noller said.
“During this period, the beef industry has witnessed some extreme lows with the drought and now a complete contrast with return to good seasons and record prices.
“Looking back, it’s the things you learn in the tough years from the mentors around you, that give you the skills to make sound business decisions in the future.”
The Bondfields, along with former operations manager David Smith, had a huge impact on the growth of the Charolais breed and the establishment of Ultrablacks, as well as significant influence in the wider beef industry.
“The Palgrove team is honoured to be working with one of the leading cow herds in the country and we look forward to continuing the benchmarks that have been set in the areas of performance, quality, innovation and support to future generations of beef producers,” Mr Noller said.
Story available at The Land
https://www.theland.com.au/story/7739799/profit-boosting-genetics-at-palgrove/