My name is Andrei Beskow, I am Brazilian and I am 23 years old. I live in Porto Alegre ,RS, Brazil . I study Veterinary Medicine and I am in the fifth year of the course at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. I was selected by the Brazilian Angus Society to be the Angus Youth COALAR, 2008 scholar in Australia .
My first stop was Glenoch Farms with Roger & Justin Boshammer, at Chinchilla, Queensland . A major part of the Glenoch Farms enterprise is the growing of melons, and my first day entailed a 5 am start to help harvest. After trying my hand at being a melon picker we moved on to the cattle work. The mustering and moving of stock between paddocks was done on horses. I also helped vaccinate the heifers for clostridiosis and leptospirosis and the bulls for vibriosis. This was good practice for me injecting animals. Pregnancy Testing the cows and heifers was also good practice for me.
At Glenoch Farms, the melon enterprise was extremely interesting for me, as my parents grow Corn and Soy Beans in Brazil . The irrigation system was quite different to what we use in Brazil , and so I found it quite interesting. Glenoch also use a legumes shrub species called ‘Leucena'. Leucena is quite high in protein, so stock has a good weight gain on this pasture. However, about 10% of the mob has to be inoculated with specific microbes, as Leucena has toxic tannins which without the microbes the stock will die. I was very interested in the management of the Leucena as a pasture species and the management of stock grazing on it.
The Queensland Heifer show, on the ANZAC long weekend was a great chance for me to see a range of different cattle and to experience an Australian cattle show. We had sessions on animal structure, cattle assessment and cattle parading. It was also a chance to meet some young Australian beef enthusiasts. I found the whole weekend a really interesting experience and I thank Raff Angus for loaning me a heifer. Congratulations to the organisers for developing and encouraging young people into the beef industry.
My next hosts where the White family of Bald Blair Angus, Guyra, NSW. At Bald Blair, I had to get use to using motorbikes to muster stock, which was interesting as I am use to working stock with horses. While I was at Bald Blair, we did some fencing, fixed some broken water pipes and helped wean the lambs. During my stay, all the bulls and heifers were being supplementary fed with hay and silage, to help cover the winter feed gap on the tablelands area. The bulls also were supplemented with urea and molasses, in addition to the hay and silage. I also had the opportunity to help with the semen and service testing of 80 bulls, which was a great experience for me. An interesting operation on Bald Blair was the Angus/Wagyu crosses, which where destined for feedlots, targeting the Japanese market. I was very impressed with the Bald Blair operation in regards to their high selection pressure for meat quality.
The next leg of my journey took to the Steel's and Halliday's, Ben Nevis Angus, Walcha, NSW. I was again lucky enough to pregnancy test the cows and heifers. I was also lucky enough to see early weaning practices as in Brazil ; we have no need of this type of system. I was fortunate to also spend a day scanning the bulls with Roger Evans, Bovine Scanning Services. Ben Nevis Angus sell most of their bulls as yearlings, so selecting these bulls was a great experience. We also took a trip into the Walcha Sale Yards for a weaner sale, which Ben Nevis was selling animals. I really enjoyed myself at the sale as I was able to see this selling system in Australia .
My next port of call was Angus Australia's head office, in Armidale, NSW. I was briefed on the Australian Angus registers, on CAAB, and on the Angus Youth program. Angus Australia also hosted a morning tea for me so I could get to know the staff at the office. It was an excellent opportunity to get to know more about the Australian Angus system.
After Lunch we headed out to the Agricultural Business Research Institute (ABRI), to be briefed on the Breedplan system. I was hosted by Matias Suarez, from Argentina , who briefed me about the Breedplan system, in regards to how it is calculated, what are its results and how it compares to the systems in Brazil . It was really interesting and informative. We also met with Gil Stasson from ILRIC, which was really interesting as his fiancé is Brazilian, and he spends a fair bit of time in Brazil , and so was a good contact.
In the evening, we attended a dinner with Angus Youth members from around Armidale and it was great chance to meet some more people and make some new friendships.
After leaving NSW I was met in Melbourne by Andrew Carey, the Brazilian exchangee early this year, and he took me out to my next hosts, Nic & Sara Moyle, Pathfinder Angus, Hamilton , Victoria . My stay with Nic & Sara was my longest and during my time with them we built a hay shed as well as fixed and built some new fences. During my time at Pathfinder I got to put my veterinary skills to good use by artificially inseminating the heifers and cows at fixed times as well as performing embryo transfers. I was also able to pregnancy test the cows and heifers as well as administer the hormones for oestrus synchronisation. During my time at Pathfinder, part of their herd was calving so this required daily weighing and identification of new born calves. I was also involved in helping to feed the bulls, heifers, and calving cows on a daily basis. Pathfinder also put a lot of selection emphasis on bulls for improved meat quality.
The Angus Youth COALAR 2008 exchange was really an excellent experience for me. I had a great opportunity to see the Australian Angus cattle and the way Australian beef producers work while gaining practical knowledge while on the exchange. I appreciate all the Australian people, who are all hard workers and very passionate about their work and for the land.
The largest difference between Brazil and Australia , in terms of beef production, is the cost of production. In Brazil we have cheap workers, good rainfalls and good native grass, that makes the cost of our beef production much lower then Australia 's. However, Australia has a very good animal health status, without Foot and Mouth Disease and BSE (mad cow disease), for example, and that is a preference in the principal consuming markets of beef. I was impressed with the amount of attention that the producers give to the meat quality when selecting the bulls at joining. A really good system that I saw in Australia is the Breedplan genetic evaluation tool, which produces an estimate of the genetic value of an animal and it usefulness as a breeding animal. I was also impressed with the NLIS as it is a great and efficient traceability system.
In Australia I had great experiences and life lessons that certainly will be very good for my professional and personal development. I would like to thank very much COALAR and the Australian Angus Society, especially the Angus Youth's coordinator Jim Klarner, who did a great job in organisation my trip, and also to all my hosts and new friends that I have in Australia, a big thank you for being so welcoming.
