Santa Gertrudis are key on Ironbark

Andrew and Fiona Johanson, run their businesses, with their sons Josh and Luke, on Ironbark, in the lower Mt Walker area of the Scenic Rim region.

Ironbark, which lies in the Bremer Valley consists of light grey loamy country and ironbark, hence the properties name. This section of the property is where the Johnasons herd runs on improved pastures.

The Johansons purchased their first Santa Gertrudis bull in 1987, to introduce the breeds' calm nature, beautiful build and red coat. They also mainly try to buy polled bulls for animal welfare purposes.

"We began by using the Santas over our Droughtmaster females to produce progeny with smaller heads. We've never had a calving problem since starting with this cross. We've now bred out to almost entirely pure Santas," Mr Johanson said.

The Johansons leave their bulls in the paddock year-round as their breeders consistently cycle at around the same time each year.

"We're getting a good mob together now, and we will again in January, which works for us as our improved pastures alleviate the issues associated with calving at that time of year. We find being able to consistently supply cattle to the saleyards is more useful to us than adhering to strict joining windows.

"Our numbers are good at present. We don't want to get into the situation of overgrazing as you never know when the next drought might hit. We quickly cull any heifers that don't perform. This has led to us achieving a close to 100 per cent fertility rate."

While the Johansons usually try and grow progeny out to 20-months-old for the live export market, the weaner market is so strong at present that they're selling steers at 12-months-old.

"We sell through Hayes & Co at the Silverdale Saleyards, where we've been receiving very good returns."

The family are constantly sourcing new bloodlines for the herd. Their most recent purchases were from Bremervale Santa Gertrudis's Matthew Wainwright.

"He produces an animal that suits us well. He has a good mix of Dangarfield, Rosevale and Canowindra genetics through his herd, so we know the quality is there.

"A nice long animal, with width, temperament, and solid EBV figures is what we look for in the bulls we purchase."

Mr Johanson said as he gets closer to retiring in the next 10 years, he'll be looking to expand the scope of the cattle enterprise.

"Fiona and I both love breeding cattle, so we'll be looking to increase the size of our herd and country down the road."

He said the solid rainfall this year has led to an abundance of feed growing.

"Our improved pastures look beautiful and the cattle are looking good. It's rare to have lots of feed and good prices for the cattle we sell at the same time."

An agronomist by trade, Mr Johanson is focussed on land sustainability and soil health. This drive has recently seen the company he works for, as its national sustainable agriculture manager, named Woolworths' Sustainability Supplier of the Year and Fruit and Vegetable Supplier of the Year.

"We're striving to create better yields, while using less inputs such as water and diesel to make things easier on our environment. The company I work for utilises GPS-guided auto drive tractors on tram lines to reduce diesel compaction and increase carbon, which we're sequestering."