FutureBeef, supporting ideas into action near Moura

Jos Maclean, ‘Coolum Pastoral’

Our family have been running Coolum Pastoral near Moura, Queensland, since 1927. The 5881 hectare property was originally farming country, but since taking it on, we’ve made significant improvements especially in pasture development.

In the early 2000s, we planted legumes like butterfly pea, siratro, and caatinga stylo, and established several leucaena paddocks. More recently, we planted Rhodes, bambatsi, panic grasses, and more caatinga stylo into Indian couch up the leucaena rows, as well as dog prickle-prone areas on another block. We currently run 2727 livestock units (LSU) of composite cattle, aiming to produce flatback steers and heifers for the feedlot market.

FutureBeef has played a key role in guiding our management decisions. We first came across their resources while searching for tools to guide our breeder performance planning. One valuable find was the body condition score (BCS) photo index. It helped us clearly define the targets we want our cows to meet for optimal conception rates. Using that information, we’ve developed a strategic breeder plan that includes clear benchmarks around body condition, breeder type, and bull selection. We believe BCS is the biggest driver of reproductive success, and the FutureBeef resources made it easy to set clear benchmarks.

Crossbreeding has also become a focus after noticing how differently some cows in our herd handle local conditions. A beef extension officer pointed us to a FutureBeef webpage on different crossbreeding systems and summed it up perfectly with the saying, “Cows for conditions, bulls for markets.” That advice gave us the confidence to split our mob for the 2024/25 joining season: softer, more fertile cows were joined with Brangus and Ultrablack bulls, while our Brahman and sleeker-coated cows were joined with Angus. The aim is to produce heifers that suit our breeder herd while generating progeny that ticks all the boxes for the feedlot market. We’ll repeat the strategy in 2025/26 and track the results.

FutureBeef has helped us turn practical ideas into action — supporting better grazing, breeding, and long-term productivity.