NAMUEL Station, Georgetown, was a hive of activity last week with mustering, drafting, and educating weaners on the agenda while the kids are at home from boarding school.
Kelly and Kelvin Bethel run Namuel, a 25,500 hectare property 10km west of Georgetown.
School holidays see Travis, 15, and Leah, 12, return home from Charters Towers to join younger sister Jorja, 8, out in the yards – where this week they were busy drafting about 350 head.
Mr Bethel said the year had been going well, with some late rain coming in to ‘save’ the season.
“The cattle are looking real good,” he said.
“We had about 28 inches (711mm) from the Gulf come down and save us, before that it was looking ordinary.
“It has dried off now but the cattle have done well, we have a good load of weaners.”
Mrs Bethel said the rain was a lifesver.
“It just seemed that every cloud that came over had rain in it,” she said.
“People in town were like ‘I wish this rain would stop’ – but that’s like swearing.”
Recently the Bethels sent five decks of steers to the Atherton Tablelands, where they sold to the feedlot market for the first time. Mrs Bethel said they were very happy to receive 230c/kg.
With 1700 breeders, there’s not too many pure Brahmans left at Namuel, as the operation is focused on producing softer cattle by incorporating Brangus, Charbray, and Simbrah genetics.
Crossbreeding sets them apart with an aim to get into a niche market for flatbacks in the north.
Their proximity to the highway and being so close to town has also given the family the opportunity to build up their roads for all weather access, which gives them market access during the wet season, when others in the north may not have access.
“We try to sell when there’s not such a flood in the market,” Mrs Bethel said.
Predominantly supplying the meatworks market, the Bethels also sell to a private client in the Tully region who fattens.
Bulls are continuously joined throughout the year, and are sourced from private sellers or bred on-property, and females are only pregnancy tested if they’re bound for the live export market.
Aside from growing their herd with a Bos Taurus focus, one big focus at Namuel is on educating their three children.
“We have a fairly high focus on the kids being involved,” Mrs Bethel said.
“From mustering to bookwork, we want to have them involved from an early age.
“I think it’s important for succession that they have a full knowledge of the business so they can make an educated decision on whether they want to stay or leave.”
The Bethel family are also involved in the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Beef$ense program, which Mrs Bethel said has become invaluable after three years of participation.
“We were approached to be involved by the DAF team, and we had just come through succession so it was a good time,” she said.
“We’re in our third year now and it has put us in really good stead.
“We have an impressive spreadsheet full of facts and figures which we can take to the bank or the accountant to explain what we are trying to do.”