Sorry I haven’t checked in for a while, but I’ve been busy with mustering, which we do for around four months of the year to manage our herd of cattle.
Mustering is also the time that we sell our cattle, almost all of which will be exported live to Indonesia, with some also going to the Middle East.
Mustering days are very busy. They mainly consist of getting up at around 5.30 am, grabbing a quick breakie, making your lunch and taking your horse, buggy or bike out to bring in the cattle. There are also other days when we shoe horses, work in the yards with the cattle or fix our buggies – but there’s always a nice cold beer at the end of the day!
We need a lot of help this time of year – there are usually about five or six people in our mustering team. They come from all over, including the south of Western Australia, the east of Australia and even some from overseas. We all work together and live together, so you get to know the team pretty well, and they all enjoy their time here. I’ll introduce you to some of them in my next entry.
Before I sign off I would encourage you all to read Dr Nigel Brown’s article on the industry. He has the real story to tell about lifting animal welfare standards in the Middle East with the help of the Australian livestock export industry. Catch up with you again soon.