ADAPTING TO CHANGING MARKET CONDITIONS
Our Breeding Philosophy
The Winvic herd has stood the test of time and has adapted to changing market conditions over the past 50 years.
The core Braford herd was established in the late 1960s and has evolved to become a unique herd of tropically adapted flatbacks using trait leading Poll Hereford, Red Brahman and Braford genetics. We aim to produce cattle with extra muscle but without compromising on softness and maternal traits. To achieve this we seek out sires with EBVs that meet our breeding objectives of high weight for age and IMF, moderate rib and rump fats and strong maternal traits. The progeny are genomics tested and performance recorded through the Australian Tropical Composite BREEDPLAN and superior animals identified must pass docility and structural assessments before being retained in the breeder herd.
Traits
There are 4 traits our female cattle must have to be retained within our breeding herd.
Fertility: all females must calve with ease, raise a calf annually and rebreed within the set joining window. No second chances.
Temperament: It is absolutely essential that our cattle are a pleasure to work with, so we place a high value of docility. We are really tough on this one…any cow who is not easy to handle gets culled. No second chances.
Structure: structure equals soundness and longevity so it is very important to our profitability. Animals not meeting our soundness evaluation at weaning do not get a chance to join our breeding herd.
Doabilty: the ability to raise a calf and survive in the tough times is just as important to us as the ability to thrive in good times. Bos Indicus content is essential in our production environment and combined with the Braford and Poll Hereford genetics produces a female with superior survival in drought conditions who produces progeny with superior finishing in the good times.
Similarly, our bulls must possess the same 4 traits:
Fertility: bulls must reach puberty ahead of the average in their contemporary group to be retained and they must pass an annual BBSE and morphology test before joining females.
Temperament: just like our cow herd we expect our Bulls to be docile. Bulls showing less than ideal disposition at puberty are culled. No second chances.
Structure: structure equals longevity. Our bulls must have good feet, legs, good sheath and good muscle anything less and they are castrated at weaning.
Doability: we place a high value on animals with a good clean coat to help with tick and fly tolerance. Bulls with a good work ethic/libido are also highly valued and by DNA parent verification we identify bulls that work the hardest in our multi sire herds and measure their son’s performance.
