Beemurra Aboriginal Corporation has been receiving client’s cattle to background since Yallalie Downs’ first perennial pastures were established in 2016.
The system of backgrounding cattle involves putting them onto pasture to increase their body weight and condition in order to meet a market specification.
While achieving weight gain of the cattle is a key objective, there are other important benefits that contribute to the profitability of backgrounding, such as the opportunity to take advantage of peaks in cattle price and increased market options.
The best information available suggests that daily weight gains of 0.6 kg per day between June and December are typical for pastoral cattle in the region. However, results vary between livestock and weight gains ranging from 40 – 100 kg per head can be expected while grazing the Yallalie pastures.
Clients retain ownership of their cattle while they are being backgrounded, and Beemurra is paid when the cattle are sold, with the “agistment” fee based on the weight that has been gained by the cattle while grazing Yallalie pastures.
Most clients require a weight gain on their cattle and charging a fee based on weight gained works well. Beemurra is also able to work with clients if they have other requirements for their cattle.
When cattle are sent to Yallalie, they go through an induction process that involves recording their weight and being worked each day until they respond quietly to the presence of the handler in the paddock. Our staff are skilled in using low-stress handling techniques. This ensures the safety of the handler, and allows cattle to quickly adapt to their new environment.
The Dandaragan region receives most of its 500 mm annual average rainfall between May and October. As a consequence of this rainfall pattern and pasture species, the best grazing occurs in the winter and spring months (from March to September).
We manage cattle on behalf of cattle owners and pastoral stations in the mid-west region of Western Australia. Our aim is to build our loyal clientele and welcome consistent arrivals of their cattle onto our pastures.
Yallalie currently allows for up to 600 head of cattle at any one time. We are committed to further developing Yallalie and we are on track to achieve our goal of 1000 head to be turned off each year.
