Cracow hits gold in Gallagher solutions

“Cracow Station” is one of the oldest properties in Queensland’s Dawson Callide region. First settled in 1851, it’s been in Sarah Cox’s family for five generations.

Sarah and her husband Richard moved to the 10,374-hectare property in 2004. Their management focus has been on fostering the long-term health of the business, cattle and landscape by implementing rotational grazing, pasture management, soil rehydration, fencing and stock-water improvements, as well as low-stress stock handling.

A stockman’s discovery of gold in the Cracow region in 1913 sparked small-scale mining and a township. As far as Richard is concerned, these days they’ve found gold in several Gallagher solutions – stretching across animal management and electric fencing.

Richard says livestock numbers in the grass-fed beef operation are highly dependent on feed availability and water supplies.

But in recent years, the cattle have not all been owned by the Coxes. In 2015, with stock numbers below capacity, Sarah and Richard decided to change how their business operated, leasing out Cracow Station for five years. Although the lease finished in March 2020, it provided them with some valuable insights into the carrying capacity of individual paddocks and broadened their experience of high-intensity grazing systems through their management of another property, ‘Acacia’ near Theodore, which was purchased by the lessee in 2016.

“The arrangement was that we managed the cattle at ‘Cracow Station’ and ran this business in conjunction with ‘Acacia’, which is a 1,076ha mixed farming and grazing property incorporating irrigated and dryland leucaena, flood irrigation and improved pasture,” Richard said.

He says the business decision and risk-management strategy certainly proved the right way to go.

 

Adding weight to reports

The lessee currently has a contract with AA Company to supply feeder-weight F1 Wagyus to the company’s feedlots.

Data accuracy is vital. 

“We had a good set of weigh scales, but they were ageing. I was after accuracy and speed.”

Having long used Gallagher equipment, and previously used Ruddweigh equipment, Richard’s search led him to the Gallagher TSi2 Livestock Manager.

“When I first started using Gallagher, I felt they were ahead of everything else on the market.

“We trialled the TSi1 and I really liked the functionality and simplicity of it, plus it’s all-weather.

“The TSi2 is quick, and the young staff like using it, particularly as it has a touch screen. They don’t always remember to carry a notebook, but they’ll never forget to grab the TSi.

“Once we’d purchased and began using it though, other benefits became apparent. It allows me to generate reports for our lessee or ourselves, that are practical and functional and allow us to make more strategic stock and grazing management decisions.

“Every time a beast goes through the yard, it is scanned onto the TSi so that all aspects of livestock husbandry are recorded.

“When we have new staff members, the TSi can also tell them which paddocks cattle are meant to be in. So, if they find a cow and don’t know where she belongs, they can look her up. The TSi has every piece of data on her: where she’s from, if she’s within a withholding period, whether she needs to be treated and if so, for what, whether she’s pregnant, not pregnant… every aspect of the property’s animal management goes on that machine.

“Down the track staff can produce reports for me; it’s something that they can take ownership of, which enables me to spend that time working on other areas of the business. For me, that’s an important part of efficient business management.”

 

Invaluable service

Richard has also found the support from Gallagher invaluable.

“Whenever I’ve had an issue or been struggling with something such as converting data to a certain file format, Gallagher has been very quick to help me out. Whenever I ring for support, I wonder why I didn’t phone earlier. At the end of the day, I don’t need to be an expert at everything; that’s not my job. So I find people who are. The rapport is important.”

He’s had a similar experience with other Gallagher solutions.

“We’ve also installed a Gallagher fencing system at ‘Acacia’ and the support has been second to none, right from the planning stages through to sending representatives out for face-to-face training in using the equipment, and back-up phone support.”

An MBS2800i Fence Energizer, in conjunction with i Series Energizer Remote and Fault Finders - which enables users to quickly and easily locate and repair faults on the fence line - have proven “invaluable”.

“The remote is the greatest thing – for fault finding, to turn on and off, and basically to operate the system in general. The system is reliable, functional and performs well beyond our expectations. I couldn’t do without it.

“For internal-management fencing we’ve got a single hot wire in the irrigation area. There’s three pivots broken up into 12 paddocks, and …. we’re using just about everything Gallagher makes!”

Having used the Gallagher Irrigator Fence Crossing System, Richard has found it’s extended the life of the electric fence by ensuring the pivot irrigator can pass safely over it.

“Previously we were taking the fences down, letting the irrigator drive over, then putting the fences back up. But this system is great; we’ve got 18 wheels of each pivot going over the wire, and we don’t have to pull the fences down – or do anything – the pivot irrigators just drive over them with the wire in place.”

 

Back to service

Richard says again, the backup service from Gallagher has been invaluable.

“Through experience we have certainly learnt that the ‘secrets’ to electric fencing are to follow the book and to ask.

“I learnt a lot about earthing systems when we started and it paid off. If you follow the book, it works. Whenever I hear someone say they’re having difficulty with electric fencing I have a fair idea of some of the problems they might be encountering as we’ve made all the same mistakes over the years. My best advice is to organise for a Gallagher rep to visit your property, and get them to physically show you how to set up and work the system. That way, your fence will work perfectly.

“I love all the products, and Gallagher’s been very supportive. That’s all I can ask for.”