Hello everyone. It’s been a long time between posts. It’s been a very tough time for Caluka Farms and we had to sell the farm. It was sold in June 2024. Some details are below, but firstly, thank you for your interest in following what was my dream. It was so encouraging to see so many of you following what we were trying to achieve, and did achieve, and to receive so much feedback that you were implementing some of the things we were doing.
My dream was to run a farm for investors, and the reason doing it for investors rather than via my own means is important to understand. I’ve been an agronomy consultant to farmers for over 30 years and 90+% of my clients started off being very short of funds. It was always a struggle to allocate scarce resources to what would give the best return. It would usually take years and years to get into a position where they could do everything right and make the most profit.
So my thoughts and dreams were to one day, run a farm for investors where there is plenty of money upfront to do everything right from day one, and become very profitable much sooner. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out like that. Understandably, many were happy to put in a little bit, but no big investors were willing to invest until we had the runs on the board. Ironically, that would have been when we would not have needed their investment. Sigh.
We were so close. We knew the government meddling in the industry would be temporary, but I did not know how corrupt the abattoir companies were. There is an interview I gave to Maria Zeee you can find on her website, and there I give more detail on what was causing the demise to our business, and to so many others in the industry. Very sadly, I know of some farmers who could not cope with the stress anymore and took their life. The government, banks, and corrupt people in the industry have much to answer for. I will never forget this, and God willing, if I can get a chance to bring honour and trustworthiness back to the industry, I will with a team of passionate farmers and business people.
The sheep industry will thrive again in Australia, when the corruption in the saleyards and abattoirs have been dealt with. I have it on good authority, this is being attended to much like corruption in politics, Hollywood and big Pharma have/are being attended to. #IYKYK. The demand for meat overseas is very high, and at very high prices. Much higher than us farmers were being paid. And with the rise of carnivore diets and decline of veganism, meat demand is likely to stay strong for the future.
As you saw on our farm, there is massive upside in livestock production in Australia, whether in the low or high rainfall zones. If everyone would treat their pastures like a crop, and think of the animals as harvesters, the industry will flourish. “Pastures first, sheep second” as you would hear me say so often. It is a very important principle. Currently, the majority in the livestock industry in Australia still put animals first, pastures second. That needs to change.
If you are constantly trying to use genetics that grow faster and bigger, you are on the wrong track. If you say yes to something, you are usually saying no to something else. It is meat and/or wool per hectare, not kilo’s per animal that should be your target.
We showed that even with inferior genetics, we could very successfully have ewes lambing twice per 12 months and obtain 240-260% lamb marking percentages. But, there was so much more to improve on that we did not get a chance to achieve. When the pastures are at their peak performance at all times of the year, ie, nothing is lacking and there are no soil constraints like salinity, compaction etc, and the sheep genetics are elite for the system and location, then it will be possible to achieve >300% lamb marking percentages every 12 months. And in our area, we would be running >60 DSE/ha average and >45 lambs/ha/year.
The livestock breeders need to stop hand feeding their rams and bulls to expose the genetics that are there to be fat even in tough conditions, to get many, many more ewes/cows pregnant and still maintain condition, and to find the genetics that are immune to every disease. Far too few in the industry are doing this, but they need to change their style of selection, and then the industry will hit a new slope of faster genetic gain and performance, and especially in profitability.
What has happened to end the dream, and the loss of money to us, family, friends and all shareholders is heartbreaking. The intense difficulty of trying to find a home for the sheep, and then the utterly heartbreaking truck roll over killing about a third of our best lambs en route to a buyer was one of the worst times in my life.
On a positive note, we showed it was easily possible to run sheep at over 54 DSE/ha, to have ewes lambing twice per 12 months, and to have sheep that are immune to worms, flys, lice and wet feet problems. And for those who have been to the farm, you saw there is so much more upside. We had not reached the limit. Not even close. If you are still at <10 DSE/ha in a similar rainfall to us, I hope you are encouraged to change and gain the higher profits that are waiting for you.
Pastures first, livestock second. It matters. A lot !! You can not carry 60 DSE/ha unless you grow the pasture. Treat your pastures like a crop. What could you achieve if you fed your pastures like you do for your silage and hay paddocks? That will hopefully show you what higher profits you could achieve.
Our real estate agent did a magnificent job in finding many buyers for the farm in a time of doom and gloom. Since we have sold, the sheep industry has turned around for there to be no problem getting into an abattoir and at high prices (especially in the eastern states of Australia). The new owners of the Caluka Farms property have bought a gem, a very productive property.
Having to end the employment of my workman, and having to do all of the heartbreaking work in finding a home for all 6,000+ of our sheep took its toll. I was not in a good state mentally nor physically by the end of it. The night we found out the truck had rolled over and killed many of our lambs we had sold was one of the worst nights in my life. Many tears flowed with my wife.
My wife and I are feeling very blessed to have found a house to rent in a quiet bush area. I am not working or writing any newsletters until 2025. I needed time out to rest and recuperate. I am feeling better each week, but am deliberately not planning anything in the future for several more months, or until I feel my brain is working normally again.
So, thank you to everyone who has followed this blog and took an interest in what we were trying to achieve. I do not plan to put up any more blogs and probably before the year is gone, I will close down this website. So thank you for being part of the journey. God bless, and good bye. Wayne Smith.
PS. After I close down this Caluka Farms website around the end of 2024, you will still be able to contact me via wsmith@agronomy.com.au.
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