Third generation Kangaroo Island farmer Simon Veitch has expanded his family business into new enterprises and directions since he started full-time farming in 2010.
When Simon returned to the farm, it was a pure beef run operation on the original holding, with his father Wayne well known for his eye for cattle.
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But the family changed the enterprise mix to include Merinos, introduced cropping and leased more land. Simon said the push into new enterprises was to increase business profitability.
“Leasing was the quickest way to increase the land-holding without incurring the massive debt of land purchase,” he said. “Introducing sheep into the farming mix has increased my labour use efficiency.
“Mixing cropping and sheep allows for higher stocking rates. “I went for Merinos as they were a better match for the MacGillivray growing season. “Plus being a cattle property, the fences are certainly not going to hold cross-breeds in and I didn’t want the massive cost, in dollars and time, that re-fencing would incur.”
Simon completed a Bachelor of Agriculture at the University of Adelaide, worked as an agronomist with CRT in the South East and then Elders at Kingscote before returning home.
“I always knew I wanted to work in agriculture and my goal was to return home and manage the family farm,” he said.
“I enjoy the challenge of farming, most of the time, and putting into practice what I learnt from my time off the island and whatI’m continuing to learn each day.”
When the next generation returns to the farm, succession is a key consideration and the Veitch family has been proactive and already started discussions, seeking professional advice.
They say having an ‘outsider’ who is independent of the family can help remove some of the emotion and ensure all those involved can have their say.
Simon makes the most of technology to make farming easier.
His mantra is ‘if I can measure it, I can monitor it and then know how to improve it’.
He uses worm egg counts to know when to drench, soil tests to calculate fertiliser and liming rates and feed tests his grain and hay to calculate the most cost-effective feed rations for stock during the dry periods.
He finds ‘Pastures from Space’ a useful tool especially now that he has access to it on his iPhone.
Pastures from Space enables farmers to assess their pasture growth using satellite imagery.
“It’s a great time saver during busy times like seeding when I can simply monitor pasture paddocks from my phone,” he said.
“While it doesn’t remove the need for physically checking some paddocks and stock condition, it’s a great guide as to which paddocks actually need a physical check, rather than wasting a whole day driving around checking all the paddocks.”
Future directions for the farm include an increased focus on the sheep enterprise to build numbers to around 2000 ewes. The key driver of profitability is kilograms of wool per hectare.
The Veitchs’ benchmark their business performance with local vet Greg Johnsson, enabling them to track progress and compare costs and returns against other KI operators.
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Simon uses Australian Sheep Breeding Values to take the guesswork out of ram selection.
Lambing takes place in July to match ewe feed demand to pasture growth and aims to keep ewes in score 3, helping to maximise lambing percentage.
The family runs Simmental- Angus cattle as a simple crossbreeding program, using hybrid vigour to maximise beef weight per hectare.
A move from calving in March to June/July has significantly reduced hand feeding costs.
The other key change that has reduced costs and increased kilograms of beef/ha has been the move from selling weaners to growing the cattle out to 450kg.
This enterprise shift enables Simon to run more head of cattle with fewer cow/calf units and bulls.
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Cropping occurs on welldrained paddocks with a rotation of wheat, canola, lupins and a hay mix in the wetter areas.
Simon is currently trialling a long-term canola variety as a new option for the cropping enterprise. The crop was sown in September 2014 and will be harvested next December.
During its 16-month life cycle, it will be grazed twice to maximise returns and still deliver an end yield.
“It’s too soon to tell if it will work, but if you don’t try you will never know,” Simon said.
(Written by Lyn Dohle PIRSA and funded by the Kangaroo Island Natural Resources Management Board)
