EU accreditation pays off for Dorrigo beef producer

Ian and Annette Lethbridge say falling outside the EU specifications can mean a loss of as much as $200 a carcase.

Making the effort to get their herd accredited for the European Union (EU) market 6 years ago and staying in the program since has been well worth it according to Ian and Annette Lethbridge from Dorrigo.

The EU market is not a big volume market for Australian beef but it is usually a high value one and that suits the Lethbridges.

Ian and Annette sold their beef cattle property in the Taroom district in Queensland after experiencing 19 below average rainfall years out of 26 and moved their beef business to what they hope is a safer region.

In the last 12 months they have purchased “Nunga” a 1100 hectare property at Warialda and two smaller properties “Roath Park” and “Eldon Park”, close to Dorrigo on the very productive red soil plateau.

The Lethbridges moved their 450 cow Doughtmaster breeding herd to “Nuga” at Warialda.

Charolais bulls are used in this herd as terminal sires and the steers are moved to the Dorrigo properties to be grown out and finished for the EU market.

Ian says that they have spent a long time setting up the herd to meet the requirements of the EU market as they focus on having a high level of compliance with the specifications.

Falling outside the EU specifications can mean a loss of as much as $200 a carcase.

The Lethbridges believe that crossbreeding is a great means of getting the right animals to meet these specifications and maximise the dollar returns.

They consider the combination of European, Bos Indicus and British breeds and the hybrid vigour plus breed complementarity it brings does that for them.

The Charolais sired steers and surplus heifers from the Droughtmaster cows do the job really well says Ian.

The recent increase in acceptable maximum carcase weight to around 400 kg HSCW has been very welcomed by EU producers like the Lethbridges.

Being able to grow the animals to the higher weights and receive at most times a premium price has been a pleasing result for the producers who have put in the effort to join and stay in the EU program.