Rob and Sally McTaggart and sons, Jamie and Ben run a mixed cropping and cattle enterprise located 5km north east of Mingenew. Their property, ‘Bolinda’ covers approximately 5,000ha and annual rainfall in the district is usually 320mm.

The McTaggarts purchased Bolinda in 1990 after leaving the family station in the Murchison. The property is all heavy country and can be split two ways, based on soil type. Half of Bolinda sits in the Nangetty valley and is grey clay, with the balance a red loam, being the Lockier River valley.

About 1,600ha of the farm’s 3,700 arable hectares is cropped to wheat, barley or legumes with wheat/pasture or legumes/wheat or wheat/barley/pasture/legume, the typical rotation. The long term average cereal yield for Bolinda is just below 2t/ha. When a paddock is prepared for cropping it is generally cropped for at least two years. The McTaggarts believe that too much work and effort is put into the preparation stage for paddocks to be cropped for a single year.

Legume crops are generally opportunistic and involve chick peas or fi eld peas. Due to unusual seasons and disease, chick and fi eld peas have not been part of Bolinda’s rotation in recent years, but they are hoping to include them in the future.

When the McTaggarts started farming Bolinda they were running Merino sheep with their cropping operation. Over time they noticed that the sheep were having a detrimental effect on the soil structure, particularly in the wetter months. Twelve years ago they introduced cattle and noticed that their saltbush country looked much happier supporting cattle rather than sheep.

Consequently, the McTaggarts no longer run their own sheep fl ocks. They do provide agistment for Rob’s brother’s, sheep when times are tough in the north. And it can work the other way. When feed was short at Mingenew last year, the Murchison had a fantastic season and Rob was able to send some of his cattle to Mt Narryer, his brother, Sandy’s station.

The McTaggarts started their cattle herd with just 10 mated heifers in 1994 and they have gradually built up their numbers. In 2006 they mated nearly 800 cows. Over the fi rst fi ve years, the McTaggarts joined their cows and heifers with Hereford and Angus bulls. They later changed to Angus bulls and one Shorthorn bull which they kept a number of heifers from. Since 2003 they have used only black Angus. The McTaggarts run a self replacing herd with the weaner bulls, steers and some heifers sold virtually straight off their mothers. With

Sally and Rob McTaggart

CASE STUDYRob and Sally McTaggart - Mingenew

more refi ned management the family are hoping to increase their cattle numbers to 1,000 breeders.

Bolinda’s low lying country covered in native bluebush and saltbush with an understorey of native medics, ryegrass, wild oats and barley grass, has proven invaluable in fi lling the autumn feed gap.

The relationship between the stubble and bluebush and the requirement of cattle to balance energy and protein became obvious to the McTaggarts when cattle began breaking out of stubble paddocks to get to the bluebush. Initially they believed it to be a maternal instinct, but after a number of rotations they realised that this was not the case. They hypothesised that no amount of wheat stubble could make up for a lack of bluebush, which was providing balance in their diet. These bluebush pasture paddocks have proven invaluable and are grazed in conjunction with the adjacent crop stubbles.

These bluebush areas have enabled the McTaggarts to avoid hand feeding their cattle in autumn and early winter. Cows are moved into these sheltered blocks of bluebush one month before they begin to calve, which coincides with seeding - a hectic time of year. By locking up these areas of bluebush in the spring at seed set, the McTaggarts have encouraged the bluebush to bulk up over the years.

While the McTaggarts continue to breed their way into cattle, Rob can see the need to grow crops in order to minimise risk. The couple readily admit that they have not pushed their stocking rate whilst learning the strengths and weaknesses of their country.

“We are still refi ning the cropping – cattle mix and looking to apply our cropping knowledge to growing pasture,” Rob says.

Over the past 10 years they have sown a mixture of heavy - land medics with disappointing results. In 2003 they sowed the ARGT - resistant Safeguard annual ryegrass with some success.

“We want better quality pastures and are looking at ryegrass but we do not want Annual Ryegrass Toxicity,”: he adds.

Rob believes that the grasses are very good for the soil and ultimately he would like the pasture mix to comprise medics and grasses.

“Medics on their own tend to leave the ground bare, but once the grasses have established, the medics will grow also,” he explains.

Rob and Sally McTaggart - Mingenew

For further information contact:Sarah Knight

Mingenew-Irwin GroupPhone: (08) 9928 1658

Email: s.knight@westnet.com.au

Bulls in paddock sown to perennial grasses, also containing saltbush and bluebush. Photo 19th May 2006