Gelbvieh & Murray Grey Stud Overcame Hay Shortages with a Hustler Bale Feeder

Published 28th September 2017
Australia

Glenn Anderson, a beef farmer located in Northern Tasmania, and his family run a Gelbvieh & Murray Grey Stud. Read this story to see how they overcame feed shortages…

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After converting their Circular Ponds dairy farm near Mayberry in Tasmania to beef in 2009 with Murray Grey bulls retained to establish the beef herd, the Andersons continued to develop their herd with Angus and Limousin genetics being introduced. Being more difficult to handle than their quiet Murray Grey counterparts, the hunt was on for a quieter alternative. 

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Gelbvieh cattle were the answer, when the Andersons purchased an Ebony Lodge bull from Gelbvieh Tasmania and soon after this the decision was made to establish a Gelbvieh Stud with the purchase of two Crystal Creek heifers and who have since been joined by two Mellool heifers to complement the Murray Grey Stud which contains bloodlines from Cam Grove, Woodbourn and Ultimate studs.

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The farm is part of Cape Grim’s Never Ever Program which requires all cattle to only be fed grass (no grain) and not to be given any antibiotics (those who require antibiotics due to injury/sickness are removed from the program).

The Preferred Bale Feeding System

After putting up with the frustrations of their old bale feeder the Andersons knew that when converting from dairy to beef in 2009 that was the right time to invest in a new bale feeder that was reliable, and could help with their hay shortages. That was when they first discovered the benefits of the Chainless bale feeding system and purchased a Series II Chainless 4000 for the farm. 

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X Series Advantage

Having already run the Chainless 4000 feeder for 8 years of trouble free operation, the Andersons were among the first to purchase the all new X Series, the Chainless X5000 bale processor when it became available on the market. Take a look at their new Chainless X5000 feeding out.

1. Hay Savings

The new X Series saw them instantly reducing their hay consumption by a further 25% compared to their Series III, as a result of better teased out hay, and a more even windrow, giving their cattle better access to the feed supply. 

 

so it’s saving us half a bale a day” 

25% reduction in feed costs

 
2. Ease of use

Not only has the hay savings been a major benefit to the Andersons, especially when they’re running short on supply, but they’ve also been very impressed with the ease of use of the X5000, and the fact that there’s very few platform adjustments required when feeding out.

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3. Fuel savings

They’ve found that instead of needing to rev the tractor to 2000 rpm to increase flow to tease apart their tight centred bales, the new Chainless 5000 can operate at not much more than an idle at around 1500rpm saving them a lot of fuel. 

4. Low maintenance 

There’s very little to maintain, all the drives are protected under the covers and in 8 years they haven’t needed to replace any chains, all they’ve needed to do is grease it.

 

So for 8 years it’s cost us nothing

other than grease”

 

Watch the video to see what Glenn and Callumn have to say: