Hot on the heels of success

Even though temperatures soared to near 50C last week, Marble Bar pastoralist brothers Cameron and Spencer Brooks were unfazed about the future of breeding cattle at their Limestone station.

Twenty-year-old Cameron said the pair was off to a good start.

"We had a really good wet season last year, with plenty of feed, and cyclone Christine dumped just over 150mm recently so we are off to another good start," he said.

"When we have these extreme hot temperatures, the feed seems to leap out of the ground."

The brothers, the youngest pastoralists in WA, have been getting on with their goal of producing higher content Bos Taurus type cattle using Angus genetics with a future niche market in mind.

"The plan is to produce organic beef from WA's outback which is attractive to consumers who are conscious of where their beef comes from," Cameron said.

Spencer, 18, will start university education in commerce this year, while Cameron continues looking after a 2500-head breeding herd.

"The cows are a 5/8 Angus, 3/8 Brangus cross and we are marketing about 2000 calves throughout the year," he said.

"Currently we have good calf numbers on the ground and recently sold 1000 calves into live export for reasonable prices.

"Some people think running black cattle in this environment is not efficient, but our cattle are performing and have plenty of shade and cool water to keep the weight on. Angus content will give us more options as we progress."

Cameron said the Chinese market looked promising although there seemed to be a lack of exporters due to a slowdown in the live export industry. The elder brother is planning to hire a couple to help with the homestead.

"Being single, it would be good company to know things are being looked after, especially if I need to spend a few days away," he said.

"Life managing Limestone has its challenges, but the benefits of working the family's station are full of hot life-changing ideas."