'It's been fantastic': stud principals reflect on Stock & Land Beef Week

As Stock & Land Beef Week came to a close on Wednesday, we caught up with some of the stud principals who collectively welcomed hundreds of visitors through their gates.

Almost 150 cattle studs held open days during the eight-day event, displaying more than 7000 bulls of 15 different breeds.

For many, the event offered an opportunity to showcase their cattle and genetics ahead of on-property bull sales later this year.

Glenpoll Hereford

Glenpoll Herefords stud principal Ferruccio Toninni, Glenrowan, said like in any year, he found the open day experience "very rewarding".

"It's been fantastic," he said.

"The people that have come, I've learned lots of things from them today.

"I always find that very, very rewarding."

Mr Toninni and his brother Flavio, penned up some of his best stock under the cover of his sheds and had plenty of new and old faces drop in.

He started breeding the Herefords in the late 1980s and operated with 100 stud cows.

Mistletoe Limousin

Mistletoe Limousin stud principal Denis O'Connor, Greta South, said he and wife Pam enjoyed a busy open day.

"It's been pretty busy this morning, really good," he said.

"It's been a very hot day but there's been a lot of people here and people buying which is even better."

Mr O'Connor said when it came to Stock & Land Beef Week, people felt they could come and visit the farm in a relaxed way.

"Whereas otherwise they think if they come and visit they have to buy something and they're less likely to come," he said.

"You can't sell something to somebody that's not here so if you can get them to come on that day, even if they don't buy on the Beef Week day, they might buy later on.

"They'll come back and buy something later on that they've seen."

The O'Connors started their Limousin stud in 1993 and now have 50 autumn-calving stud cows.

Pakenham Poll Hereford

Tyler Weston, Pakenham Poll Herefords, Pakenham, was taking on more and more of a role in running the stud's open day alongside parents Paul and Kathy Weston.

"It's exposure and it's allowing people that have never even seen our stud come and visit," he said.

"Some people haven't even seen Herefords before and some people are first generation farmers and they're just interested in looking at different animals and it's a great opportunity for them."

Mr Weston said such farmers had travelled to different stud farms and when they saw the Herefords, they realised that the breed had excellent structural integrity.

The stud was set up by Mr Weston's grandfather, Dr Richard Wetson, and his father Paul in 1992.

They now run 110 stud cattle in total.

Mystic Angus

Mystic Angus stud principal Peter Wilkinson, Goorambat, said their open day had gone "really well".

"We've had a steady flow of people coming through and quite a lot of stud breeders looking at our genetics," he said.

"There's been some real good positive feedback on people coming through looking at the bulls."

It was just the second year the new stud had taken part in Stock & Land Beef Week and this year they displayed sale bulls, donor cows and autumn-calving females to more than 40 visitors.

"There were a couple of people who came through who bought bulls three years ago, at our first sale, who are looking for bulls in the spring this year," Mr Wilkinson said.

"We had quite a few potential new clients as well."

Jade Park Angus

Jade Park Angus stud principal Andrew McLean, Hansonville, described the stud's open day as "busy".

The family had recently invested strongly in New Zealand Angus genetics and this proved popular on the day.

"I think we opened ourselves up to a bigger client base last year and I think the New Zealand infusion is appealing to a lot of people and it may be a point of difference," Mr McLean said.

"We've had plenty of new faces, which is good."

He said it gave the approximate 50 visitors to the stud a "chance to come along and see what's going on".

"Beef Week is an opportunity to make a selection and view what you want before you have a go at the sales," he said.

Belaspur Angus

Belaspur Angus stud principal Brenton Sessions, Balmattum, said the stud's location made it an ideal stopping point for many on the Stock & Land Beef Week circuit.

"Beef Week is an opportunity for us to get clients from out of our area," he said.

"We're in a pretty unique position here off the highway.

"You get a lot of people coming through and there's new faces every year."

The commercially-orientated stud runs 200 registered and spring-calving Angus females.

Moorunga Angus

Moorunga Angus stud manager Glen Trout, Dromana, also said their open day was a "very successful one".

"We had a great roll up of new and old clients and visitors," he said.

"It's certainly always a pleasure to be part of Beef Week and it gives us a bit more time to spend with clients and just to talk about genetics, in general, with other people."

He said the stud was visited by 50 people with a "constant flow all day".

"Probably being a weekend, it probably brought out the breeders rather than too many representatives from the companies, which is fine," he said.

The stud ran 170 Angus stud cows, autumn and spring-calving.

Baldhill English Longhorn

Baldhill English Longhorn stud principals Greg and Vikki Templeton, Pakenham, said the stud enjoyed a "steady stream" of visitors throughout its open day.

"They were all interested and they all wanted to see something a little bit special and different," he said of the interest in the unusual breed.

"It's a great way to show off your cattle.

"We really like the concept of Beef Week."

Mt Ararat Simmental

Mt Ararat Simmental stud principal John Leek, Nar Nar Goon, also had a "good" day.

"We had a lot of people here between 8am and 9.30am when it was a bit cooler," he said.

"We've had a steady stream all day."

He said the stud had sold six bulls during the open day and things were looking "very good" for the year ahead.

"I've relied on repeat clients and it's repeat clients that have been here all morning," he said.