Vitulus Lowline Stud » News and Events

Small Cattle Care & Management Course: 2012 Dates

admin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:05:02 +0000

Care and Management Course is a one day introductory course designed for those interested in becoming involved with cattle. The course assists participants in developing skills in care, handling and management of cattle. All those questions you ever wanted to ask will be answered in a information packed day plus lots of practical tips that you will not find in any book. Chief instructor is Margo Hayes author of Small Cattle for Small Farms published by CSIRO.

2012 DATES: Saturday 17th March, 2nd June

THE PROGRAM: A wide range of topics will be covered including:infrastructure requirements, husbandry & nutrition, how and when to vaccinate, methods of identification, showing, marketing and promotion, beef production and Government requirements.

Course is delivered with both indoor and outdoor instruction including a tour of Vitulus stud and commercial animals.

COST: $330 Per person per day or $550 per couple. Includes copy of book Small Cattle for Small Farms, class materials, lectures, lunch, refreshments, and farm tour.

TIMES: 9am to 4pm

Email us for more information

What others have said about the course:

I would like to thank you for the Cattle Care Course on Saturday. What an excellent day! I have never attended a course anywhere ever where so much practical information was given, every thing that I needed to know was covered. Excellent, Thanks very much . Lynne Bower April 2011

I would like to say that we both thoroughly enjoyed the day and your presentation which was flowing, answered every question and gave us a lot of food for thought. Your candid responses allowed us to see the breed in a very clear light. …We found the technical info answered a lot of questions about viability, breakeven analysis and to really understand what one would be getting into…..Also those steak burgers tasted great. We would recommend that anyone wanting to know ..should invest in the field day. I believe your fee is very reasonable and is value for money. A Rota April 2011

We really enjoyed the course and it covered most things for us. We really liked the flexibility in that you covered everything people asked and appreciated you showing us how to apply ear tags when it wasn’t on your program. Greg and Janet Cumberland 2010.

My daughter and I attended the work shop day at Vitulus in April 2009, having previously attended an Open Day. We went along thinking that we had chosen our breed and were really wanting to learn more about day to day care for small cattle on our 80 hectare property. But it very quickly became obvious that this was a great educational day- we learnt so much on so many aspects- from the pros and cons of electric fences, to cattle yard and crush set ups, and came away wanting to do more research on the best breeds for us. Above all, it was open and honest teaching- no pushing of Lowline and Vitulus – but opening our minds to a variety of options. We really appreciated Margo and her helpers time- I am sure they have not heard or seen the last of us. And the social aspects and Lowline beefburgers for lunch were great. Dr John Jackson (05.05.09).

Another Carcass Win for Vitulus

Margo Hayes — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 05:25:18 +0000

A Vitulus Lowline/Redline/Bazadais cross steer won the Champion Trade carcass at the Warwick Hoof and Hook competition. This is one of SE Qld’s biggest competitions (now in its 49th year) and the steer beat 129 exhibits. The steer was 14 months old weighing 348kg. This continues on from Vitulus winning Grand Champion Lightweight Led Steer at this years Royal Brisbane Show against 152 entries. To date Vitulus have been placed in 18 carcass competitions and 15 led steer competitions making it 33 wining places since 2005. This breed has incredible results and we need to maximise our commercial viability..it gives us a whole new avenue of income which just value adds to the breed.

Vitulus Genetics sell for $17,000 in the USA

Margo Hayes — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 06:02:50 +0000

At the recent American Lowline Royal Sale in Kansas City a bull sired by Vitulus Awesome Red was sold for $17,000. Congratulations to Alta Genetics. Vitulus will be offering some new red genetics to the American market in 2012.

Price Reduction for Heifers Now On

Margo Hayes — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 03:08:50 +0000

Check out our sale page to see our latest price reductions on a number of our younger females. Unfortunatley we have to sell some of our younger girls to make way for more steers. Now that we have an established branded beef product operating through Schultes Meat Tavern at Plainlands we need more space to feed more steers.

These girls are all DNA typed and registered with ALCA. They are from our very best genetics.

USA Gerald Fry Visits RedLines at Vitulus

Margo Hayes — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 03:01:41 +0000

Reknown USA Cattleman Gerald Fry recently visited Vitulus to view the latest RedLines. In his visit to Australia to judge the Devons at the Royal Brisbane Show Gerald requested a visit to view these genetics and we more than happy to oblige. In a letter recieved this week from the organisers of the tour they wrote: ” We certainly didn’t expect the wonderful way in which you made everyone feel so relaxed and welcome. Both Gerald and Dennis said that they were very impressed in how you developed the RedLines. I know Gerald was very impressed with your breeding program and the creativity and commitment that you have for what you are doing. That was certainly reinforced by your success at the Show”.

For more information on Gerald Fry visit his website www.bovineengineering.com

REDLINE WINS CHAMPION LIGHTWEIGHT LED STEER

Margo Hayes — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 08:21:10 +0000

A RedLine steer won Champion Lightweight Led Steer of the Royal Brisbane Show. The 16th month old steer was 50% RedLine, 25% Murray Grey and 25% Limousin cross. He won the 325-350kg class and then went onto win Grand Champion Lightweight Steer. This is the first outing for RedLine Steers and what a fantastic way to launch the breed. This steer then went onto to be placed 2nd in his carcass class with a total of 88 points. Another 16 month old RedLine steer that was 7th in his class ( 376kg to 400kg) on the hoof came 3rd in his class on the hook with a total 92 points!

Incredible GeneStar Results for RedLine

Margo Hayes — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 09:54:38 +0000

Vitulus Red Express, who will be shown at at Royal Brisbane Show this year, is the No 1 ranking animal for the whole of the British Breed tested animals for Pfizer feed efficiency DNA test. He has a ranking in the top 1%. This is an incredible achievement but more importantly what it relates to is the ability to finish off grass and be feed efficient… just what the small breeds are all about.

Vitulus Full Force, who is our next star, ranked in the top 30% for feed efficiency and top 40% for tenderness. He will also be shown at the Ekka and we think he is outstanding.

RedLine to be shown at Royal Brisbane Show 2011

Margo Hayes — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 10:26:41 +0000

NEW: The Australian RedLine Cattle Association will be showing for the first time at Royal Brisbane Show 2011. 14 head and three breeders will show Lowlines that are red in colour or are black with the red gene as identified by DNA. The Association already has 12 members. This new breed is set to expand into the northern markets due to their heat and parasite resistance as well as all the other benefits the Lowline offers such as docility, smaller size and low birth weights. Export markets have already been identified. Come to the Royal Brisbane Show this year and see them on display.

New EU Embryos collected and ready for Export

Margo Hayes — Fri, 13 May 2011 00:00:26 +0000

Vitulus is pleased to announce their latest collection from Burnt Creek Keshia and Colombo Park Dvorak . 11 A grade embryos are available for sale and export to the EU. Dvorak is moderately framed well muscled bull whilst Keshia is a long, big volumed female. This combination will produce some beautiful meat producing progeny. More details on our export page.

Bribie Island Rotary Supports Vitulus

Margo Hayes — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 05:14:54 +0000

A three way relationship between the Bribie Island Rotary Club, Vitulus Lowline Stud and Shaftesbury Centre (school for ‘at risk’ children) has slowly developed over the years. In 2007 Vitulus initially donated some Lowline animals to Shaftesbury and they also purchased some females to establish a breeding program as part of the educational program for their children. This partnership has seen a number of steers being fed and raised by both Vitulus and Shaftesbury which are then donated to Food Bank. Food Bank is a wonderful organisation that sources donated and surplus food from the food and grocery industry to distribute to welfare and community agencies that provide food assistance to people in need.

In March 2011 the Rotary Club of Bribie Island held a fund rasing day to assist Vitulus with thier flood recovery process of rebuilding their fences. A auction of the contents of a furniture store kindly donated by local residents saw over $2,000 raised and kindly donated to Vitulus. Vitulus is extremely grateful for the assistance and looks forward to assisting Shaftesbury with their education program.