Analytical blog

The visit that I chose to analyze for my blog is the visit to Trigger Vale where we met Andrew and Mandi Bouffler. It was my favorite and one of the most intriguing Australian stops. This sheep stud (seed stock) operation is located in Valera, New South Wales. Not only was Mr. Bouffler very well educated, he was also well traveled. In my mind, this helped them capitalize on genetic advancement and profitability. To relate this back to scientific principles I’m going to refer back to what I learned in breeding. Trigger Vale ran Polls and White Suffolk sheep. To be successful, they place maximum selection pressure on the traits that directly drive their client’s profitability: GROWTH, MEAT YIELD, FERTILITY, and WOOL TRAITS. In order to achieve this, Trigger Vale measures and works to improve these polygenic traits (traits affected by many genes) that influence commercial profits by utilizing breeding values. More specifically, two sheep genetic evaluation systems: Lambplan and Merinoselect. As an Agricultural Economics double major I found it more interesting to take it a step further. Trigger Vale incorporates indirect profit driving traits such as structural correctness, adaptability, and temperament. Finally, they work to find a profit maximization level, especially with traits that are negatively correlated (traits that are linked and as one trait increases, the other decreases). To accomplish profit maximization they do incorporate crossbreeding to capture gains from hybrid vigor as well. In the end, I was very impressed with this stop and learned quite a bit about the sheep industry in Australia.

To visit their website: Trigger Vale

Wool - this is very profitable in Australia

White Suffolk Rams

Tom was a little bottle lamb that the family was feeding

Overall Australian Impression

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Australia! I covered in more detail what we did each day, but in my mind, pictures speak louder than words. Thanks for following me down under.

Best food in Australia! Diamond Creek Tavern - Fish and Chips and Apple Crumble

Webb Black Simmental

The Barbie

Wagga Wagga Livestock Marketing Center

B double semis

Cargill

Spry Shorthorns - Champion Bull at the Sydney Royal

Cairns

Rainbow from the rain

Australia - Day 9

The morning started out foggy, cloudy, and rainy which we found out only happens about 5% of the time during the fall and winter. Regardless, off we went to see the Great Barrier Reef because today was the only day we had left in Australia. The group boarded a boat to go to Green Island for the morning. I signed up to go scuba diving, received some training, and explored the small island. In the afternoon, I boarded a pontoon to go to the outer reef by scuba diving and snorkeling. Both boat rides were not enjoyable primarily because of elderly asian tourists and their weak stomachs. Even so, words cannot express the beauty that God created under the sea. I got to touch fish, a giant clam, and see all sorts of beautiful fish, a shark, and the ocean floor. Without a doubt, I will remember this for the rest of my life. Following the boat ride back to the hotel, the group had a farewell dinner at the Bushfire Grill. It was an Australian barbecue and very tasty. To end the day I went to the night market which was an interesting experience. It's hard to believe that this trip is over and I will be headed home!

Australia - Day 8

May 30, 2012

The day was started early in Sydney and I wished that we had more time in the city. After a ride to the airport, the group boarded the plane to Cairns. On the plane I did watch the movie Big Miracle. Upon arrival, the sky was cloudy and random showers popped up. The afternoon was spent at the Tjapukai Cultural Center to learn about the aboriginal people. The most fun was the boomerang throwing and spear throwing. The night concluded at a seafood restaurant close to the ocean.

Australia - Day 7

This morning the sun was shining and that was a fabulous sign. Following a short drive to Charles Stuart University, we met Dr. Peter Chenoweth. This was a great experience because he actually taught at Kansas State University for a number of years and left the states to come back to Australia in 2005. He gave us a tour of the college and livestock facilities, including the brand new cutting edge veterinary school which focuses primarily on horses. Additionally, we got to meet some students. For the first time we got to see a kelpie dog work sheep. Many of the places we have visited have dogs, but we haven't gotten to see them in action. A lengthy bus ride took the group to a convenience store where I chose to eat at KFC for lunch. The chicken wasn't bad. The country side was beautiful! We finally arrived in Sydney around 4 pm. I went shopping with Jordan and we were able to find some good things to bring back with us. To close out the evening the group went on a dinner cruise which was beautiful. There was a special light show going on this evening so the Sydney Opera House, bridge, and several other buildings were lit up and had art projecting across the buildings. The city is a fun place to be and I wish that we could stay here longer! Even so, we are headed to Cairns (pronounced canns) bright tomorrow morning.

Australia - Day 6

May 28, 2012

This morning started out at the Wagga Wagga Livestock Marketing Centre (center). It is a very large place that sells cattle and sheep, but we got see the cattle sale. After cattle are dropped off, they get drafted (processed) and put into sale groups. For example, vealers is the term for cattle just weaned off their mums (dam). We also saw heifers, bulls, and steers sold. Agents sell the cattle and it is their job to know the buyers and who buys what type of cattle. Bidding is very subtle and no names are called out during the auction. One gentleman bid by raising his right index finger while his hands were folded over his desk. Approximately 500 head of cattle are sold during one hour and it was very impressive how the system worked. Out back, many of the people working had horses, either quarter horses or Australian stock horses. This is the first time that we have seen horses working. The second stop not very far away was the Cargill abattoir, a joint partnership between the Teyes family and Cargill. To me, this plant was much more Americanized for lack of a better word, and only beef cattle were processed. We were also able to learn more about the grading system. There are two systems in place the Aus Meat and MSA systems that may work together and separately as well. Not every carcass is MSA graded. A worker on the line let me see the grading cards and they are similar to what we use in the United States, however, the score is assigned a number as opposed to Choice marbling score. The group ate lunch and had time to shop downtown in Temora. The final stop for the day was Jindalee Feedlot. The yard gets in about 1000 head per week to feed and ships the same amount to the abattoir in Wagga weekly. 90-95% of the cattle come directly off the farm and of the 17,000 head feedlot only a small percentage aren't black. This yard doesn't do any custom feeding and gives implants. Feed stuffs are purchased from farmers nearby. Although much smaller, this yard reminded me of the ones back home. Dinner was at the Victorian Hotel (bar). It was a very good meal. In the end, the weather was fabulous and it was a great day. It's hard to believe that a majority of our trip is over already.

Australia - Day 5

May 27, 2012

This morning was extremely foggy. Albury proved to be a nice town to stay in and after breakfast the group took a lengthy bus ride to our first destination for the day - Trigger Vale. We heard from Andrew and Mandi Bouffler about their White Suffolk and Bond Merino Stud. They run about 1200 Merino ewes, 500 White Suffolk ewes, and because they are a stud, approximately 700-800 yearling rams.  Additionally, they grow crops: wheat, barley, canola, faba beans, and oats. Andrew is very educated and has traveled the world bringing back ideas to put into practice within his own operation. Essentially, he is working to build a super ewe who has the ability with proper nutrition and environment to reproduce and raise a lamb in addition to producing top quality wool. I really enjoyed this visit and learned a lot, especially because we don't have any operations close to the magnitude in the United States. Artificial insemination, embryo transfer, and even genomics are used by this operation. The second stop for the day was an emu farm by "The Rock" on Marrocka and it was nice because the sun came out. Ian and Marilyn Marston run about 200 birds. Surprisingly, each bird is quite valuable because of a special oil in the emu's back in addition to leather, meat, and some feathers. This stop was very "outside the box" so to speak and an unforgettable experience. They were also kind enough to serve us lunch. It was very delicious! We had salad, potatoes, steak, sausages (beef hotdogs) and pavlova for dessert. They were very hospitable and it was great to have a home cooked meal. For the last stop we got to see Sprys Shorthorn stud. This stop was phenomenal and the highest quality stock that we have seen so far. In fact, a bull that won the Sydney Royal not too long ago that the stud sold was here for a few days. The focus of the Shorthorn breed is much different here compared to the United States because it has more of a commercial focus. This is another favorite stop and they were kind enough to feed us dinner.