Angus Genetics – Shaping the Future at Cannington Pastoral Co
Operating in the northwest of Queensland, Cannington Pastoral Co utilises Angus genetics in their cattle enterprise.
With the home base located south of the township of McKinlay, Cannington Pastoral Co is a multigenerational business operated by Peter and Julie McAuley alongside their daughter and son in law Alex and Nathan Mura, with their infant daughter Olivia. Spread some 120,000 acres over three properties, the Cannington Pastoral Co business is a self-replacing Angus influenced breeding operation, turning off steers for the feedlot trade. Adjacently, the family also run a earthworks business, McAuley Earthworks & Transport.
The Cannington Pastoral Co breeding herd is located on their properties in the McKinlay shire, Answer Downs and Cannington Station, covering 90,000 acres of the total aggregation. The breeding properties are a mix of open black soil downs country and timbered sweet gidgee stone ridges. With pastures of Mitchell, Flinders, Buffel and Blue grasses, as well as other native species, the McKinlay River runs through Answer Downs and the Hamilton Channels run through Cannington Station, running for differing lengths of time during the wet season.
The family join approximately 3,000 females annually. Previously a straight bos indicus herd, turning off steers into the live export trade, the operation began integrating Angus genetics into their herd eight years ago, which shifted their breeding objectives.
“Due to the advantages the Angus breed delivers in fertility, marketability and added weight gain, all Brahman females are now joined to black Angus bulls and F1 Angus/Brahman females are joined to Ultrablack bulls registered on the Angus MBR,” said Nathan Mura, who alongside his wife returned to her family’s business in 2022 following a time managing S.Kidman and Co property, Brunchilly Station, located north of Tennett Creek, NT.
As a result of this drive into the Angus breed, the 2025 Cannington Pastoral Co calf drop will be entirely Angus influenced.
Cows are joined from March to May for calving in December through February. With a joining window of three months, heifers are joined at 12-15 months of age.
As the family continue to integrate Angus genetics into their breeding operation and increase the overall fertility of their herd, they are aiming to reduce their existing joining time frame to a period of eight to ten weeks.
With developments within their breeding business, the family have begun integrating the use artificial insemination (AI) technology in their joinings.
“Traditionally we have not employed artificial breeding techniques in our commercial breeder herd, however over the past two years we have been developing the beginnings of our own tropically adapted Angus and Ultrablack seedstock operation, ‘Walkabout Seedstock’,” said Nathan.
“Through the use of genomic technology, we have been able to select females from our commercial herd with superior genetics to form the base of our seedstock multiplier herd.
“We have employed artificial breeding technologies including AI and embryo transfer, to fast track the genetic gain in our stud herd. These genetics, and the purchase of elite Angus females, have been sourced from leading Angus seedstock producers that already provide bulls into Northern Australia.”
In 2025, the business will look to AI 250 heifers and 50 Angus cows for their seedstock operation.
Fertility remains a key driver and point of emphasis for the business. Weaning rates for all joined females currently sit at 75% with a long-term average of 86% for wet rebreeds, with the family consistently working to improve on these rates.
“A heavy emphasis has been placed on female fertility to increase the weaning rate year-on-year,” said Nathan.
“Preg-testing and the Angus genetics have provided significant improvements and will continue to increase this rate as Angus influenced heifers enter the breeding herd.”
With this in mind, management measures are taken, especially considering the country and seasons in the region, to ensure maximum fertility in their breeders.
“The major management practice we apply to our herd and country managed is matching the carrying capacity to the stocking rate, which we complete formally on an annual basis just after the growing season, in approximately March/April each year,” said Nathan.
“Furthermore, we place an emphasis on wet season spelling of paddocks and managing the condition score of our females, weaning accordingly to ensure we maximise productivity of the breeder herd.”
This drive for fertility continues into their keep/cull decisions, with females culled from the herd if they fail to bring a calf to the yard at branding, and if they fail to have a wet rebreed within the joining period. Heifers who fail to get in calf by the end of their joining period are also culled.
“All heifers are kept (excluding definite culls such as deformations or abnormalities) in the commercial herd and we allow the bull to complete the selection process for us to ensure fertility is a major focus of our operation,” said Nathan.
“Females in the commercial herd are also assessed on udder structure and culled accordingly at preg-testing.
“Heifers in the stud herd are structurally and phenotypically assessed to ensure they are tropically adapted, being that feet and leg structure are suitable, and a slick coat and fly resistance is acceptable.
“All stud females are structurally assessed upon their initial joining and each session through the yards to guarantee their structure is correct, to ensure longevity of the breeder herd into the future.
“Ensuring fertility is routinely at the forefront of our breeding objectives, we aim for more calves to hit the ground annually and therefore turnoff more kilograms per hectare.”
The female breeder herd is Grasslands Pasturefed Standard and Greenhams Never Ever Beef Program accredited.
When it comes to selecting genetics for incorporation into their herd, the family enter selection decisions with a balanced assessment, incorporating both the phenotype and genotype of the animal.
They also utilise dam fertility data and semen assessment in their selection decisions.
Due to the northern location of their operation, accounting for the environmental pressures is critical. The family look to bulls that are structurally sound and mobile to cover the more expansive country. Furthermore, they look for more slick coated animals for greater heat and fly tolerance.
“Environmental challenges that come with breeding cattle in northern Australia include the extreme heat we are experiencing in the lead up to the wet season, with the temperature reaching 40+ degrees for weeks on end,” said Nathan.
Once the desired phenotypical traits are achieved, the family then look to calving ease, growth and fertility traits to complete the sire package.
Steers are backgrounded at Raelee Downs, which is 30,000 acres located northwest of Winton. The country on Raelee Downs is black soil plains, with Mitchell and Flinders grass pastures, with a small number of summer and winter herbages, season permitting.
With female progeny retained back to the herd, the steers produced in the business are destined to the 100-day feeder market, with the family aiming to directly sell the progeny to the feedlots, with entry weights between 450-480kgs.
When looking at what they deem the key drivers of success in their herd, the Cannington Pastoral team identify a top three; selection of genetics that will ensure genetic gain is accelerated, management of the environment and grasslands that is under their control to increase weight gain on steers and body condition of the breeder herds and driving fertility in their cow herd to maximise the kilograms produced and the weaning rate across all females joined.
Identifying the benefits of Angus and its influence on their breeding objectives, Nathan outlined his thoughts for the breed into the future, particularly in northern production systems, “I see further growth of Angus influenced cattle in northern Australian as a massive opportunity for the Angus breed.
“If northern Australia is assisted in
the transition, they will see the opportunities the Angus influenced cattle will bring to their operations and essentially the increased positive effect of their bottom line.
“I also see the Angus SteerSELECT and Angus HeiferSELECT genomic testing products providing profitable outcomes for all entities involved throughout the supply chain. As Angus producers we need to ask the question of the feedlots and processing facilities to embrace this technology to ensure producers providing high quality genetics into the beef supply chain get rewarded for their efforts.”
When looking to the future of Cannington Pastoral Co business and what they are collectively hoping to achieve, the continued building for future generations is front of mind, “The goals we have set for our business is around creating a legacy for the next generation,” said Nathan.
“We aim to create a sustainable large scale commercial grazing entity, that encompasses a data-backed tropically adapted Angus seedstock business selling bulls into the ever-evolving northern Australian Angus market.
“The plan for the next five years in our business is to finalise our succession plan and implement changes to take advantage of opportunities that are presented to the business. We aim to set a new strategic plan that aims to grow the business assets and set a solid foundation for the stud herd to be able to sell genetics commercially.”
Helping to drive the future
As an up and comer in the industry, Nathan immersed himself in opportunities to further his professional and personal development, as well as lending a voice to further the support for northern cattle producers utilising Angus.
Growing up in Brisbane, Nathan completed a Bachelor of Agribusiness and Applied Science at the University of Queensland. Following this, he spent much of his career in the Northern Territory, working for corporate pastoral companies and rising through the ranks from station hand to station manager until his return to Cannington Pastoral Co in 2022.
In 2024 he took up a position on Angus Australia Northern Development Consultative Committee. The role of this committee is to provide guidance in developing policies, strategies and plans relating to Angus Australia’s Northern Development Program, monitor activity, progress and results of the Northern Development Program and communicate and represent the views and requirements of northern Australia beef breeders in relation to Angus genetics and Angus influenced cattle.
Furthermore, Nathan was a member of the 2024 cohort of the GenAngus Future Leaders Program, which took place in New Zealand in May.
“I applied for GenAngus because I saw it as a unique networking opportunity to be involved with likeminded young professionals in the beef industry,” said Nathan of taking part in the program. “Having been only involved in the Angus breed for a short time I felt it would be beneficial to be involved with the program for my professional development. READ MORE
