A father and son in Victoria say that they have found Limousins to be the perfect partner for Polled Shorthorns both in the feedlot and on improved pasture.

Peter White and his father Gerald have been using Limousins for the past eight years in a bid to increase the muscle and reduce the tendency for excess fat in their Shorthorns.

"It’s not that we weren’t happy with the Shorthorns, we thought they were doing a great job. It’s just that we did have a bit of trouble with them having too much fat cover. They were also fairly slow maturing and sometimes we had a bit of trouble with them not having quite enough muscle," Peter said.

Having looked at various British and European breeds Peter took a trip to the United States where he visited Wulf’s farm.

"I’d been looking around for something to try to muscle my Shorthorns. After two visits to Wulf’s farms in America I was convinced that Limousins would do the job. It was through that visit that I met Rick Tindall from Wagga and I’ve been buying my bulls off him ever since."

Peter and Gerald were so impressed with the Shorthorn/ Limousin cross that they have been putting f1 bulls over f1 cows in recent years.

"We’re at the stage now where almost everything we produce is half or three-quarter bred. These two breeds seem to complement each other perfectly - whatever faults one breed has the other corrects."

The benefits of crossbreeding can be seen in real terms on the scales.

"As well as the Limousin/Shorthorns we also have some straight Shorthorns and some Angus/Shorthorns. I keep separate figures on all three types just to see how they do."

The result is clearly in favour of the Limousin/ Shorthorn cross.

"We’ve got a group of 14-15 month old steers that are ready to go at the moment. On average the Limousins weigh 488 kilos which is 23 kilos heavier than the pure Shorthorns and 46 kilos heavier than the Shorthorn/ Angus cross."

On today’s prices that means a difference of approximately $46 to $92 per beast - an impressive result for grassfed cattle.

Peter said that the Limousin cross cattle were just as successful in the feedlot however he has stopped feeding grain in the last two years.

"We were doing pretty well out of the feedlot but grain was getting expensive the last couple of years and I didn’t think that cattle prices would hold like they have. That was why we had them grazing on grass this season."

Peter said the steers have performed well grazing on 1400 hectares of improved pastures that have been seeded with sub-clover, ryegrass, phalaris and cocksfoot to supplement the native grasses of the region.

The property consists of approximately half granite hills and half undulating hills. It is lightly timbered with red gums, candlebarks and yellow box and is watered by two semi-permanent creeks and an extensive system of dams.

Good winter rainfall means that the pastures are in peak condition in August and September when the cows calve. Peter said that the grassfed operation has worked very successfully over the past two seasons in place of grain feeding.

"I wouldn’t rule out going back to feedlotting or supplementary feeding at some stage but we’re happy with how they’ve performed on grass. There won’t be any problem with them having enough fat cover for the domestic supermarket grids anyway."

Of the 200 calves that are produced on the White’s property each year all of the steer calves will be sold to supermarkets, usually Safeway.

All calving takes place between August and September to take advantage of the spring feed. Replacement heifers are joined to calve at two years of age.

Of the 80 heifer calves from last year’s drop 50 will be kept as replacement breeders while the 30 culls will also be sold to the supermarkets with the steers.

"We’re in a position to be able to cull pretty hard because we’ve got quite a few heifers to choose from. Basically anything that I think isn’t quite heavy enough to join at the time that we’re selling or that I don’t like the look of will go over the hooks."

He added that the Limousin cross heifers regularly outperform their Shorthorn and Shorthorn/Angus sisters.

"Of the heifers that we cull the only ones that are ever heavy enough for the supermarkets are the Limousin cross heifers."

As Safeway have their cattle slaughtered at the local Kyneton abattoirs Peter makes a habit of getting all the available carcase information.

"Feedback like that is a great tool - it shows you whether you’re doing the right thing. We’ve never had any trouble getting 8 to 10 millimetres of fat on the rump and their weight is fine. Their dressing percentages are good too - if we didn’t get at least 56 percent we’d be disappointed."

Having temperament as a key priority it is also pleasing to Peter that they have rarely had problems with dark cutting meat.

"It’s very rare for us to have a dark cutter - we haven’t had one for a long time. I think that’s partly because we’re crossing the Limousins with Shorthorns, which are a very docile breed, but mostly because I’m very careful about buying bulls that have good temperaments. Rick’s bulls are really good that way - they’re very quiet cattle," Peter said.