Sun, rain and no complaints - Best season in decades for Pemberton farmers

In his more than 50 years of farming, Pemberton beef, potato and avocado producer John Bendotti has never seen a season this good.

The grass on the second generation farmers’ 485ha property — where he runs 300 head of Angus, grows 60ha of avocados and 10 varieties of spuds with his family — has been green since March.

“It’s been a beautiful season down here,” Mr Bendotti said. “It wasn’t very hot in summer and we only had a short summer, then we had six inches of rain in February.

“And because it’s early it’s still warm so everything’s growing.

The cows have been enjoying grass for two months. It’s one of those years you could probably run an extra 20-30 cows. I’ve never seen a season like it.

And with cattle prices sky-high, 2021 is shaping up to be one for the Bendotti family to remember.

The Bendottis pick and pack their spuds which are processed locally.

Mr Bendotti farms with his wife Christine, son Jason and his brothers Peter and Stephen and their wives Dayle and Robyn across a number of neighbouring properties, including the first 32ha block his parents John and Lena purchased when they arrived from Italy.

His brother Joe runs a packing house across the road — where the avocados are also packed and sent over to the Melbourne markets — while his brother Stephen works at Manjimup-based french fry factory WA Chip, which is owned by G&B Bendotti and D Bendotti and Sons, and processes thousands of tonnes of local potatoes annually.

His daughter Lisa is also in the agricultural industry, working in the live cattle export yards in Broome.

Mr Bendotti left school at 14 to work with his sister Betty and brother Joseph after their father became ill. Once finished school, Peter and Stephen joined them.

Originally run as a dairy and spud farm, the family moved from dairy to beef cattle in the early 1970s.

“In 1973 there was a depression in cattle and they were worth absolutely nothing,” Mr Bendotti said. “So we decided to get out of dairy crosses as their maintenance was super high.”

“We went down to Esperance in November 1972 and bought 100 Angus for $76 a head from Alpasco farms, then went back in January.”

They tried a few different breeds and crosses in the years following, including Poll Hereford and Limousin, but settled on Angus.

Mr Bendotti has developed a keen interest in genetics, with his efforts recognised nationally at the recent Beef Australia 2021’s National Beef Carcase Competition, winning the pasture fed pen of three heavy trade chiller steers or heifers class for their cattle.

It was a back-to-back win for the family, after claiming the top spot in the same category in 2018.

“I’m pretty honoured,” Mr Bendotti said.

Mr Bendotti will have another reason to celebrate this year, with the annual Independent Rural Agents sale — run by Colin Thexton — he helped establish, having its 30th anniversary this year.

Held at the Pemberton Sports Club through AuctionsPlus, Mr Bendotti said each year about 1600 head of cattle from local farmers in Manjimup, Pemberton and Walpole were auctioned, with locals and buyers coming to the club — of which he is the president — to watch the auction.

He said the independent sale had been a great way for locals to sell their cattle, the prices for which had been “exceptional” in recent years.

“In that 30 years I’ve never had an animal that didn’t sell in that system,” Mr Bendotti said. “Feedlotters have been great supporters of our farm.”

In the last 10 years, the price of cattle has been very good — last year was exceptional.

“The difference is in the older cows, which a few years ago were only worth $300-400, but now you can get $1800-$2000.”

One challenge they have worked through in the past 18 months has been the labour crisis within the horticultural industry, with backpackers and seasonal workers few and far between.

Mr Bendotti said they were lucky that they had help from family, and the surrounding farms had been sharing what backpackers they had so that everyone was able to get their crops out of the ground and off the trees.

With the region’s avocado crop tipped to be one of the biggest yet, he said labour could be a problem once it came time to harvest in October.