Sylvia Elliott, who grew up in Melbourne but now lives on “Hawks Drift”, Tumbarumba, recalls when she first met her husband Mark. He told her “one day we will have our own farm”.
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At the time, Mark Elliott was working in the mines, and after their marriage, both worked hard building up two cafes in Canberra and raising three daughters.
As their daughters grew up and completed their education, Mrs Elliott said they encouraged “Mark and I to follow our dream and buy a farm”.
They started with a 242ha block at Braidwood.The couple then went onto a 160ha holding near Smithon, in Tasmania, where they agisted cattle in a profitable enterprise until they were made “an offer too good to refuse”.
“We returned to the mainland and looked for a suitable place,” he recalled.
“I knew the Tumbarumba area was a good one, with plenty of water which was a great incentive.”
Their holding of 400ha was once the ‘summer paddock’ of the extensive Jingellic Station, and Mr Elliott said “our country is always green through the summer due to springs which run through the paddocks”.
“A lot of our pastures are at least 50 years old and show no sign of deterioration.”
Mr Elliott said he has the intention of “leaving the property better than when they arrived”, and has increased the water supply and with the use of electric fences, now has over 30 paddocks around which his cattle are moved in rotation.
“I like to move our cattle around so pasture is being spelled and we always have feed in front of our cattle,” he said.
“We are building soil fertility… that is the crux to our operation, and I am a follower of the concepts of William Albrecht, who was the foremost authority on the relation of soil fertility to human health.
“He saw the link between soil quality and food quality, and he made the connection between poor quality pastures, and ill health in livestock.”
When Mark and Sylvia Elliott purchased “Hawks Drift”, near Tumbarumba eight years ago, they set out to establish a top quality herd of Angus cattle.
“They are the breed that is getting a premium and I saw that when we had our farm at Braidwood,” Mr Elliott said.
“We had a terrific pen of black baldy steers, but a pen of Angus, and not as good as ours made more money.”
They now have 300 breeders along with heifers and 20 home-bred bulls.
The herd has been been bred from a base of Rennylea and Ardrossan cows with later infusions using AI from Matauri Reality, Ardrossan A241, Rennylea C574, and Millah Murrah Equator D78 to achieve their desired type.
When making their marketing decisions, to sell direct, through AuctionsPlus or in the saleyards, the Elliott’s trust the judgement of their Wagga-based Landmark agent, Jarrod Slattery.
“He gives us terrific advice and support and we appreciate his integrity,” Mark and Sylvia agreed.
