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Summitcrest Update 2006 - Brooke Mulooly

From cattle farm to cattle ranch

By Aaron Smale

Printed courtesy of Straight Furrow 17/01/06

“It was a bit of a culture shock. You wonder where all the cattle are,” says the 23-year-old from the Hawke’s Bay, who went to the US on an Angus Youth Trust scholarship.

Despite the alien environment, Ms Mullooly says it was one of the best experiences of her life and Americans were incredibly hospitable.

“I really didn’t want to come home. As soon as they hear you are from New Zealand and interested in cattle they open up their homes to you”.

The scholarship lasts six months, but she stayed a further four months because she was enjoying it so much and wanted to learn more.

The scholar stays on three ranches in three different states owned by Summitcrest, an Angus stud that has been run by the same family since 1938.

The biggest of the ranches in Nebraska is 4000ha, but the stocking rate is a lot less than on New Zealand farms.

The other two ranches are in Ohio and Iowa.

The weather was also more extreme with temperatures ranging from 40degC to –20degC, with up to 30cm of snow during winter.

Although feed-lots are the most common way of feeding stock, they are outside most of the time, apart from extreme cold when some cows are calved inside.

Ms Mullooly said the farming methods are more intensive in some ways. At a bull sale she helped semen test, ultrasound and clip more than 300 bulls. The vast majority of cows are artificially inseminated, which can be a bit of a job when some herds number up to 1000.

She said the scholarship wasn’t a holiday and the learning experience was invaluable.

“It’s not a holiday. The more you are prepared to learn the more time they put into you.”

“If anything, being a female they threw more at you to see how you handled it.”

She said she learnt plenty about stockmanship and different ways of doing tasks.

“I can recognise a calf that is sick much more easier now. Because it’s so cold, they are more susceptible to illness in the US”

She said one highlight was seeing a number of famous Angus bulls.

“I had worked on Angus studs in New Zealand, so I went with a stud background. The cattle were different. They were more medium-framed.

“All these different bulls you hear about – it was great to see them and their progeny.”

She said that to be accepted for the scholarship you don’t need a background in Angus. Anyone, between the age of 18-30, interested in cattle is eligible and would learn a great deal from the experience.

“All you have to have is a passion for cattle.”

She said the hosts will indulge any interest you have if you want to go to other sales and see other farms.

“I saw more other breeds than I saw Angus.”

She noticed a difference in the cattle and believes New Zealand could learn much from the American industry

“Their cattle are a lot stronger in the jaw. Many of ours are more structurally sound in the feet because they have to walk. They are probably about 10 years ahead of us genetically.”

She says the cattle are a smaller frame, with small birth weights and explosive growth.

The bulls are killed at 14 to 15 months after eight months on a feedlot.

“They don’t have the luxury of finishing on grass.”

At first, she found the feedlot-fed beef bland to the taste. However, after eating it for a long time she preferred it to the grass-fed taste.