Australian farmers tour local farms

September 30, 2015 · 0 Comments

Garry Smart, president of the Ontario Limousin Association, welcomed visiting Australian cattle farmers to King last week. He’s seen with some of Hillside Farm’s fullblood Limousins.
By Mark Pavilons
Cattle producers from Queensland, Australia got a first-hand glimpse into Canadian and American cattle operations recently.
The group of 27 made a stop at a beef cattle operation in King Friday afternoon, getting a tour of facility.
Mel Haycock, tour leader, said the group represents prominent producers of all breeds. By visiting Canadian operations and various government and agricultural organizations, they get to exchange some valuable information. They spent some time with the Beef Farmers of Ontario and visited Foundation Genetics before stopping in St. Jacobs.
The group, part of the 2015 Australian Cattle Study Tour USA and Canada, arrived Sept. 20 and will head home this weekend.
“It’s been very positive,” Haycock said.
Haycock noted the trips have been a regular occurrence, with eight taking place in the last 12 years. This is the first time the group visited the east coast.
The Australians are particularly interested in how local farmers get decent productivity out of relatively small acreage. In Australia, some cattle farmers use helicopters to herd their animals. Some of the visitors have herds numbering in the tens of thousands.
The group enjoyed the hospitality of King’s Hillside Farm, one of the few fullblood Limousin beef operations in the province. The guests enjoyed their stay and learned a great deal about Limousins.
Garry Smart, president of the Ontario Limousin Association, welcomed the visitors. He noted Limousins were first introduced in Canada in 1969 and the herds today are descendants of those full French cattle.
Australia is the number-two beef exporter in the world, second only to Brazil.
They don’t have to worry about wintering their animals, since temperatures rarely drop below 6 degrees C in their winter. They do experience droughts and often “rain is a luxury.”
The Australians export a substantial amount of their beef, to the U.S., Korea, Japan and the European Union. Ever since mad cow disease made an appearance, they have concentrated on traceability of their beef and have had a comprehensive system in place. Such a system is lacking in Canada. Australia is free of the disease.
Like Canada, the Australian dollar has sunk, but this has helped exports.
Haycock said he makes sure beef is always on their meal plan and they really enjoy sampling local products.