Its Time For Me To Sound Smart

After a couple weeks back in the states, its time for me to take some of the things that I've learned while in the land of kangaroos, put them on this blog, and make myself sound educated.

All of the places we visited offered jogged some interesting thoughts in my head, but one that stood out was the visit to Jindalee Feedlot, owned by Teys Australia which is a joint venture between Teys Brothers (an Aussie company) and Cargill. You can find their site here. As a ruminant nutrition grad student, I guess it doesn't take rocket surgery to understand why this is true.




Cattle feeding is different then what we all would think. Because the Australian consumer prefers a leaner ribeye than ourselves, cattle are fed for a much shorter time. Most cattle are on feed for less than 100 days - quite different then American feedyards that can see calf-fed cattle in the yard for, at times, 200 days.

Probably even more contrasting is the fact that they use steam flaked wheat and milo to our steam flaked corn. You see, corn is not readily grown down under, so they use the products that are most readily available to them - and it makes sense. Normally, those grains aren't digested as completely, and it hurts feed efficiency. I asked the feedlot manager about his feed efficiency - and I was very surprised. He said they get a feed:gain of about 5.5:1. That's extremely similar to what we get with corn, and I know it has something to do with steam flaking the grain, but even with that said they are doing extremely well.....without mentioning the over 3.0 ADG they average across the yard.

The feedlot industry in Australia is definitely in a pickle. Their cost of gain runs at about $1 AUD (Australian dollars).....that equates to roughly $2 US. That is extremely expensive, considering with even our high cost of feedstuffs, feedyards are still only seeing about a $1 cost of gain. It all factors into the reason they feed cattle for such a short amount of time. Even though Australian cattle are extremely cheap to buy out of a salebarn, or sourced from a producer, the cost of gain kills them. If they fed them for any longer, they'd all be broke!

I think American feedyards can take a page of the Australians book though. We have grown so accustomed (an almost brain-washed) to using corn in our diets. And there is no question that corn does the trick and is the best cereal grain we can afford to feed. Having said that, I do think there is a place for grains like wheat and milo in American feedlot diets - especially in KS, where we grow a bunch of it! If they can get comparable feed:gains, then why not in my mind. I'm not feedlot operator, but even if some other grains were infused into diets, we may be able to lower our cost of gain, and make everyone a little more profitable.

I sure do miss the Aussie life. They frown upon "crackin a cold one" at lunch here in the states.

Stay classy

Rear View MIrror

Well, without a doubt this has been the most rewarding and exciting trip I have been on. This was the first time I traveled out of the country. I had always dreamed about visiting Australia, so when the opportunity presented itself, I couldn't pass it up!

I think the entire trip was impeccable. Not only did we get to do the fun "touristy" stuff, but we also got to see some top-notch operations, as well as some things that we cant see here in the states! I would recommend K-State make this a regular trip. The things you learn will be applicable in your everyday life, plus its always fun to go down under.

Here's some more pictures from the trip to kind of summarize the entire 10 days!

One more post to go, stay classy for now!

Aisle Seat

Flying home from Australia now. How do I always get stuck with aisle seats and why do people always have to bang my knee on the way by?

Makes sleeping on one of these things way too difficult. On the bright side, I get some prime movie watching time.

I'll be stateside in a matter of hours, and in Kansas by tonight. Wasn't quite ready to leave, but it will feel good to get off this bloody plane.

Stay classy

The Grand Finale

Our last day in Australia! Hard to believe its coming to an end. I definitely fee like this trip could have been 3 weeks long and you wouldn't see everything you wanted to!

Luckily we get to go out in style with a day at the Great Barrier Reef. We have all seen the photos and everything else, and even with some somewhat cloudy weather and choppy seas, it is truly the coolest thing I have ever seen. It took 2 hours by boat to get to it, and once we were there we had the chance to snorkel and go on a semi-submarine tour. 


A lot of us checked a few things off the bucket list today. I had never scuba dived before in my life, but I got the chance to today. We were trained for a hike then got to dive to 25 feet! Not gonna lie, it was a little freaky at first. It takes a lot of concentration to breathe while your underwater, because it goes against everything you have ever been taught. Everything you see down There is absolutely unbelievable. No corals are the same and the fish are magnificent. I actually was lucky enough to see a sea turtle while snorkeling which they say does not happen very often!

Backing up a bit, it was an interesting ride over. With the rainy weather and rough seas, there was quite an outbreak of sea sickness on the boat. Made for an eventful ride over. Luckily when we actually got out to the reef the weather had cleared and although it was still windy, at least we had some sun.

Headed to our final dinner here down under. And some celebratory drinks after! Long day tomorrow. Leaving the hotel at 3:30 AM to catch a plane to Brisbane. We connect to LA from there and will arrive at about 6:30 AM on the same day because of the time difference.  Then its 12 hours with of traveling before we even make it back to KC. 


Fun fact: I'm all out of fun facts. 


Stay classy

Too Bad I Like Limes

Hopped on the plane to Cairns this morning. I don't know why they spell it that way because they call it "cans". And to keep with our current theme it was raining when we arrived! Seems like we can't escape that weather no matter what end of the continent we are on.

Cairns is a real touristy town so we did touristy stuff. Our afternoon consisted of a tour of Tjapukai Aborigonal Park where we learned the history and culture of Australia's indigenous people. That was interesting to say the least but in all reality fairly similar to the American Indians.

Still raining now and looks like our trip to the Great Barrier Reef may not be as sunny and tropical as we all hoped. On our way to an expensive seafood restaurant now....hope it's good!

Fun fact: they call be inebriated..."getting pissed"

Stay classy

Short and Sweet

Woke up plenty tired from the night before.


Went right outside Wagga Wagga to Charles Sturt University. Peter Chenoweth who used to be at KSU showed us around their facilities. They have some of the nicest set ups that I have ever seen. Everything is state of the art. I'd sure go to school there! Then a 5 hours drive to Sydney that made for a lot of nap time. When we got to Sydney we went on a dinner cruise that was flat out awesome. We got to see the entire city lit up! Once in a lifetime!

 Hopping on the plane to Cairns. Stay classy

Chaw

Another really foggy morning, this time in Wagga Wagga. Seems to be a recurring theme for us. But they are coming into winter so it's not real surprising.

Went to the Wagga Livestock Saleyard this morning and really enjoyed it. They sell about 500 cattle an hour on Monday's and normally run through 3000 cattle per sale. What's even more astounding is that they sell 30000 sheep every Thursday. That's unreal and more sheep than I ever want to see in my lifetime. Plus Australian auctioneering is not even close to what we are used to. Overall one of the neatest spots we have stopped at.

Right across the street was our next visit to the Teys Australia abbatoir. Pretty handy to have it right across from the salebarn, but they actually source 95% of their cattle direct from the farm or their company owned feedlots. Teys Brothers has been long established in Australia and recently merged with Cargill to form Teys Australia. It combined their operations and gave them both a larger geographical reach.

An hour up the road was the Jindalee Feedlot, owned by Teys Australia. They have a capacity of 17000 and currently have 15000 on feed. Unlike our feedyards, they do not have access to corn. Instead wheat and sorghum are steam flaked for their rations, and surprisingly they get very respectable feed efficiencies compared to what we would expect with those products in the states.

I don't have a bunch of pictures from today. No pics inside the abbatoir are allowed obviously, and they were very secretive about their feedyard too.

Fun fact: the water inside the toilet bowl really does spin the opposite way



Stay classy

Chicken Schnitzel

Definitely had a good night last night. Finally got a steak instead of the usual fish and chips or chicken schnitzel. Put this in your brain box - if your ever in Albury Australia, visit the Bended Elbow. You won't regret it.

It was extremely foggy this morning on our hour trip to Trigger Vale White Suffolks and Poll Merinos. The say poll instead of polled. Those extra two letters must be more than they can muster to annunciate. They are all about measuring performance data in any way shape or form, which apparently is not common in the Merino breed. 500 Merino ewes are purebred, while another 800 are used more commercially. 500 White Suffolk ewes are also used purebred and another 700 ewes are a Merino x White Suffolk cross. That's way more sheep an I ever care to have or see.

Probably the most interesting visit thus far has been to an emu operation. We saw around 200 mature breeder birds. Eggs are harvested and hatched by humans to replenish the "herd". Once the birds reach 5 years old, they are processed. The main product is the oil, which is 10 times more potent than omega 3 oils, which are obviously popular among consumers right now. I never thought I would find an animal dumber than a sheep or a turkey, but these things take the cake.

Our final trip was to Sprys Shorthorns. I raise Shorthorns back home and have seen the problems developing within the breed in the US, thus why we are moving away from the purebred stock. But if I could live in Australia and raise shorthorns I would be in business. Maybe the best set of cattle we have seen yet, and a group of guys that really know what works for their customers.

Pulling into the hotel now in Wagga Wagga.

Fun fact: an Australian redneck is a bogan.

Gonna post some pictures finally since I got the blogger app to work.

Stay classy

Completely Different

Trip to McDonalds this morning for breakfast and free WiFi = pointless. All of us trying to get on the Internet at once did not pan out well. But breakfast was good and we got on the road.

 It was a real bleak rainy morning at Lawson Angus. These guys have been true pioneers of the Australian cattle industry. They have sourced thousands of embryos from the US and specifically Gardiner Angus in Kansas. They utilize every single type of technology available and take as many different records as possible. They put all of this forward to their customers at an annual bull sale. They also have satellite ranches in western Australia and Queensland that target specific customers in that area. All in all they run over 2000 cows and I must say have they have the best looking sale catalog I have ever put my hands on! Bringing that one back for future reference!

 After lunch and a 2 hour commute we ended up at Lima Park...and let me tell you, the two places we visited today could not be more different. Lima Park runs 500 Hereford cows and 3000 Border Lester x Merino ewes. They are about as hands off as possible, do not utilize any growth promotants, and on the cattle side do not use artificial insemination. Although they are able to export all of their grass fed cattle and sheep to the EU, so their market is specified and what they do works for them. 

 I was unlucky this morning that I did not get my blogs posted before Internet went down at McDonald's. So I'm posting the last 2 days and today's right now. Sorry for the delay. They have all been written but the lack of WiFi has been a real real issue. I'm back on track now! 

 Fun fact: Australian toilets have two options. A half flush and a full flush. Guess it saves water for #1.

 Stay classy America.

Hey That's Pretty Neat

Day 3 is a rainy one. They said on the weather this morning they plan to get as much rain as they normally do the entire month of May in the next two days! Makes it pretty difficult for us, as we had a plans to look at cattle. Guess I should have brought my muck boots. 

 Had an awesome experience at JBS Australia. They were extremely inviting and friendly and a great group of people to meet. We got the chance to see every facet of their operations which is hard to do...so shout out to them for giving us that chance!  A lot of what they do is very similar to the states, but it was obvious from the beginning that they utilize a lot more of the carcass then we do. Parts like the head meat and muscle surrounding the vertebrae they use, while we would throw it out. The biggest contrast was the leanness of their cattle. Even those that have been grain fed are starkly trimmer than American cattle. But I have noticed that they are much more health conscious here, so I'm sure it's consumer driven. Kind of the same thing is happening back at home right now. 

 JBS is well spread out over eastern Australia. The Brooklyn facility we visited harvests 1000 cattle and 3000 sheep per day. A lot less than our plants! This was my first chance to witness lamb harvests since its virtually non existent in the US. They had some really neat automated equipment that made the job much faster and easier. It was clear that they were on the edge of innovation for Australian packing facilities! JBS is the sole supplier and packager of all the meat sold in Coles Grocery Store. Which is one of the two largest grocery chains in the country. Out of the 1000 cattle they process daily, a certain amount is set aside for Coles, and the balance is then exported (mainly to the EU). The EU has a high demand for Australian lamb and beef because of Australia's willingness to adopt and implement the no HGP (hormonal growth promotant) policy. Nearly all of Australian producers do not utilize implants, which goes against everything the American cattle industry has done for the last 20 years. Just goes to show the type of world we are living in and how doing things differently then we used to is going to become normal soon!

 Next we visited Webb Black Simmentals near Seymour. These guys are top of the line for sure. They have been sourcing Simmi genetics from the US for about 5 years now and have pretty much jumps tarted the Simmental breed in Australia. For years the red Simmentals have been popular and because of the extreme heat black hided cattle aren't normally accepted. But the quality of their cattle is too hard to ignore. They have singlehandedly raised the popularity of the breed and are doing some neat stuff. They run about 250 spring and fall calving cows and have an annual bull sale every March. If your ever in Australia, definitely need to stop by. They will show you some good cattle and fill you full of drinks! Almost back to the hotel. I'll have another blog tomorrow.

Stay classy America

Technical Difficulties

Blogging isn't that hard, but finding an Australian hotel with free WiFi is a whole different story. Apparently you have a 50/50 shot at free wifi, and so far we have struck out. But past that this trip has been a once in a lifetime chance. 

 We started out yesterday at the Department of Primary Industries for Victoria ( Victoria is the equivalent to one of our states). We got a lecture from the states head honcho's about their livestock identification system. They require that all cattle be tagged with EID tags and every sale barn and abattoir (packing facility) has the capability to read these tags. All cattle movements are recorded and their traceability is immense. They record something like 100,000 movements per week!

 After that we took a bus tour around Melbourne, stopping at some cool landmarks like St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Shrine of Rememberance, and a botanical garden.  But the stop that was one everyone's mind all day was Carlton United Brewery, the largest brewery in Australia. They handle an immense amount of malted barley, bringing in at least 20 semi loads a day during the summer and using all of that immediately. They brew about 12 different beers and we got the chance to taste all of them. Definitely different than our beer, as their "light" beer is low alcohol content not light taste. Carlton Extra Dry was my personal favorite. It tasted the closest to American beer. 




We are driving now, and without Internet and all the other difficulties I'm not sure if I'll get pictures put up. Definitely gonna try. Looking out the windshield of our bus right now and driving on the left side of the road weirds me out. Feel like we are going straight into oncoming traffic! Good thing we're not!



Fun fact: Once the brewery finishes a beer and sends it out to the store, it only takes a max of 3 days before it is drank! Translation : Aussies like to get sauced!

Stay classy

Ever been on a 15 hour plane ride?

If you value your sanity I wouldn't recommend it. It's not near as bad as what I thought, but its certainly not a day at the beach. Food sucks, seats don't recline, no leg room. The only bright spot was the personalized entertainment deal in the headrest. We pulled into the gate at around 8:30 Melbourne time. 

 So we got through customs with no issues, I found the nearest ATM and pulled out some Australian mulah, and we trekked what felt like 10 miles around the airport to where the tour bus was parked. Didn't have much time to rest. Went and ate at McDonald's (which is just like it is back in the states). Then drove through some Australian countryside on our hour drive to Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary. Along the drive we got to see part of downtown Melbourne and the suburbs that surround it. Out in the country was Australia's equivalent of Napa Valley. Lots of vineyards, some of which are nationally renowned. We tried to figure out gas prices as Australia is on the liter system. They tell us that the $1.50 that's advertised here is equivalent to about 7 bucks a gallon back home. I wouldn't be driving around and paying that type of money!

Healesville was just like a zoo. There were some animals you don't get to see often like the Tasmanian devil, wombats, and wallabies. I had an up close experience with a couple of birds and they repayed me for feeding them by relieving themselves on my jacket! They say it's good luck, but we will see if that actually pans out or if it just means I have to wash my jacket tonight.  We have had substantial issues with this whole blogging thing. Free WiFi does not happen often in Australia, so being able to find it to upload these things is not possible. For future reference, don't blog abroad. Hopefully I will get another one up tonight. I'll post some pictures later. Can't find the adapter thing.

Counting it Down

It's getting awfully close to departure time. Sooner rather than later, I'll be on a 15 hour flight heading to the land down under. Now, since I've been away from campus for the semester, getting all the little details out of class has been difficult. Whether it was scheduling conflicts or technical difficulties, I've missed a few more classes than I should have. But, the facts I did pick up are certainly interesting and gave me a good idea of what to expect.


Here's a sampler:

• Convicts in England were shipped to the island, they established what we now know as Australia
• Captain James Cook first found Australia, when he ran smack dab into it
• Australia is kind of like Canada. Even though they have their own government and all, they look to the Queen of England as their leader
• Australia is well versed in wheat production, cattle, and of course sheep
• Family's own and operate around 99% of the farms in the country
• Both JBS and Cargill have international operations in Australia
• The Australian grading system for cattle includes measures tenderness, color, and marbling to meet requirements for branded programs
• Angus, Hereford, and Shorthorn cattle are prominent in Australia. But many breeds exist, including the Droughtmaster (a Brahman X Shorthorn cross)
• Over 77 million sheep call Australia home
• The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from space, and is over 500 million years old
• If you don't vote in Australia, be prepared to fork up 20 bucks
• It was illegal to swim on Australian beaches during the day until 1902.
• Bob Hawke drank 2.5 pints of beer in 11 seconds, a Guinness World Record in 1954. Then, he became prime minister of Australia.
• 20% of the worlds poker machines are in Australia.
• Tamworth is equivalent to our Nashville

Lot's to soak up I know. Long story short, Australia is extremely interesting and I'm really looking forward to my time there!

Next time I write, I'll be putting some shrimps on the barbie!

Sydney, Sydney, Sydney

Sydney gets "divided" into four areas, all bustling with tourists attractions, museums, and panoramic views. The Rocks, City Centre, Kings Cross, and The Domain all have a flavor that's all their own.


The Rocks (or Circular Quay) are the portions that get published more magazines and travel brochures than you can look at in a lifetime. Everyone knows about the Sydney Opera House, along with the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and there's no doubt they steal all the attention. Other smaller attractions are buildings that still stand from the early days of Australia, like Garrison Church, which was the colony's first religious establishment. Sydney's modern culture is captivated in the Museum of Contemporary Art and Writer's Walk, where famous quotes quotes from famous Australians are embedded in the bricks you walk on - leading to the highest incidence of knee scrapes in the country from tripping while trying to read and walk at the same time.

The Rocks....view of hotels, restaurants and the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background.

City Centre, as its name suggests, is the commercial and business hub of Sydney. You can imagine what it's like during the day.....guys in suits talking on cell phones so loudly that the entire street knows the conversation. At night though, King Street Wharf is the place to be. Bars, restaurants and everything else make it a great place for nightlife, and is typically one of the biggest celebrations of New Year's in Australia. But if you want to see it during the day, you'll find the city's first skyscraper, Culwulla Chambers. Sydney Tower dominates the landscape now and is equivalent to the Empire State Building in a way. Everyone wants to go to the top, look over the edge, fear for their life, and come back down the elevator in the fetal position on the floor. City Centre is home to shops, shops, shops, and more shops (like the Strand Arcade and Sydney Central Plaza, to name a few). Darling Harbour is another hot spot, where the Sydney Aquarium lies. Hyde Park offers a relaxing getaway from city life and is nestled nearly downtown. Plus, Sydney's version of Chinatown is in the district (and you can imgaine, it's just like ours - food and knock-off clothing).

Bright lights...just like I said!

The real escape from fast-paced city livin' is at The Domain (and Botanic Gardens). Obviously, there's lots of plants, flowers, shrubs, trees....pretty much any type of leafy vegetation a guy could ask for! One neat tid-bit is the Sydney Tropical Center, where tropical ecosystems are maintained in these pyramid/prism type structures.

I can't tell if they're going for an Egyptian look or not

Remember the movie "Gangs of New York"? Apparently, that's what Kings Cross used to be like back in the day. Today, they have gotten rid of the gangs (you know....to keep a good image). Elizabeth Bay provides some awesome views, along with the Elizabeth Bay House, which they say is immaculate, on the inside. History tells us that the owner of said house fell on some rough financial times, so the interior was done to the highest degree....but he skimped on the outside. Beare Park is another "inner-city" park that gets you away from asphalt, but this one offers harbour views on top of it!

Ohhhh....pretty

If you're going to venture out of Sydney, to the 'burbs, you have to go see Bondi Beach. Women in bikini's...what's not to like. But seriously, the water is clear and great and who doesn't like the beach. Plus Sydney's Olympic Park (from the 2000 games) sits outside the city limits and its not very often someone gets to see one of those.


Getting around Sydney is pretty easy. Unless I steal a car while we're over there, driving is not an option. But, there's taxis and trams. The bus system is pretty widespread and can get you wherever your heart desires. Why not take the bus to a Sydney sporting event?! You can watch cricket and try to figure out the rules and point behind that game, or rugby where sweaty men jump in a pile and fight for a ball. A guy could also golf, and why not, since Australia is home to the world's best choke artist, Greg Norman.