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Ray and Meryl began
farming beef cattle biodynamically in 1992 at Baldivis and
Serpentine before moving to their current larger property at Youngs
Siding, between Albany and Denmark on the South Coast, in 1998.
Although they have been using the Demeter biodynamic method for many
years, it was only in recent years that they made the decision to go
through the certification process, becoming fully Demeter certified
in 2008. They have noticed significant improvements in the health
of their paddocks in the years since moving onto the property, with
barren, salt-scolded areas returning to kikuyu and strawberry clover
pastures.
They run between
100 and 130 breeding cows, mainly Angus, Angus x Friesian and Angus
x Charolais breeds with Murray Grey and Charolais bulls over them,
keeping some replacement heifers and steers to grow on.
Ray and Meryl both
grew up on farms - Ray at Jerramungup on a grain and sheep farm and
Meryl on a beef cattle farm at East Rockingham. Over the years
their lives have
led them in other directions and into other occupations, however
they find their return to working with animals and nature most
satisfying.
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