INNOVATION and a multitude of enterprises have been key for the Ryan family and their farming operation at Pemberton.
Having taken over from his parents, Dean now runs the 350 hectare farm alongside his wife Julia and children.
Dean said he was in a family partnership but they decided to go their separate ways in early 2020 splitting the farm and their resources, which meant Dean got half the cattle herd.
They now run 80 breeders and 150 Angus heifers.
The Ryans also have a second property at Northcliffe which they move the cattle between.
The cows are Angus joined to a Charolais bull, while the heifers are sold PTIC.
When sourcing their Angus bulls the Ryans have been using the Diamond Tree/Gandy stud.
Dean said he is also a part-owner of a Lawsons Angus bull which is in the top one per cent of the breed for eye muscle area (EMA) and intramuscular fat (IMF) and this bull is used in the AI program.
Originally they ran first-cross Angus-Friesians but found they were high maintenance and less efficient.
It also meant the markets they could sell into were restricted.
"We didn't have a lot of options in terms of market," Dean said.
The females are joined with the bulls in April for calving in February, with the Ryans aiming to get their cattle into the high 300 kilogram weight range before selling them directly to feedlotters.
With market values soaring Dean said the prices they were receiving for cattle was brilliant.
"You certainly couldn't complain about the prices," he said.
In the coming year, Dean will look to increase their dry stock but will maintain their current number of breeders.
"Increasing our breeding stock doesn't suit what I want to do," he said.
"At this stage, I am just going to background cattle for lotfeeders and produce PTIC heifers to sell."
When it comes to feeding the cattle the Ryans grow all of their hay, silage and pastures.
Having produced potatoes for several years the soil had been depleted of carbon so they plan to seed the area with irrigated multi-species pastures to regenerate the soil.
They have just purchased a centre pivot which they're looking to use to irrigate the pasture paddocks.
In preparation, they have ploughed the paddocks they want to seed with multi-species pastures and will sow it all, then once all the seeds are in they will begin watering.
Dean said he still runs a potato program but it was significantly smaller than their previous program.
In the next few years he is hoping to gradually develop pasture grown meat that is high value and has a superior eating quality.
Ultimately Dean is striving to increase the amount of Omega-3 present and other health related compounds in the meat and reduce the amount of Omega-6 to improve the overall health rating of the beef.
He aims to do this through his grass and pasture regime, which involves adding compost containing fertiliser and micronutrients which will enable the plants to absorb nutrients more readily compared to a water-soluble fertiliser.
"The compost mix is key," he said.
Water-soluble fertilisers can be prone to getting locked into the soil which makes it difficult for the plants to access the nutrients.
The benefit of the compost is that it is a more efficient way of making the nutrients more available to the plants as the fertiliser gets bound into the microbial fraction making it easier for the plants to access the full benefits of the fertiliser.
"The compost acts as a biological inoculant," Dean said.
Fertilisers such as gypsum, potash, phosphate and trace elements are added to the compost before it's cooked for an eight week period.
"The Austrian fermentation technique I use means that I don't need to turn it," Dean said.
The fertiliser is only being added to the compost during the transitional phase from chemical fertilisers to eventually completely chemical-free organic products.
"I want to run a biological program rather than a chemical one," he said.
He is looking to deploy drone and sensor technology to help speed up this process.
When it comes to the compost application rates he puts 16 cubic metres on the potato crops and uses one cubic metre on the pastures which has phosphate and other minerals added in.
The idea is that with the nutrients being more available to the plants when the cattle consume the pastures they will have absorbed enough nutrients that will then translate into the end meat products making them healthier and tastier.
Dean has done research into the benefits of using this method and has found that the healthy meat product occupies 10pc of the markets in France.
Industrial grainfed cattle (Corn/soy) is sitting at a 30:1 ratio of Omega-6 and Omega-3 whereas the grassfed cattle are producing meat with less than 5:1.
He is hoping this method will also enable him to enter into a niche market.
He wants to be able to produce consistently high-quality nutrient dense meat all year round without being dictated to by the seasons.
Same goes with the fruit and potatoes when it comes to nutrient density.
"I don't want to be stuck in a commodity cycle," Dean said.
"I want to be achieving high prices all year round."
To support their irrigation system the Ryans built a large dam, which is now two thirds full.
It was a nice long season for the Ryans with rain beginning to fall early in the year and continuing through until late spring.
"It's been one of the best seasons we've ever had," he said.
Dean has taken advantage of the strong season, buying in a number of additional dry stock.
In addition to their cattle herd, the Ryans run a diverse array of commercial operations including avocados, lemons, potatoes and gold kiwi fruit.
Though most of the fruits and vegetables are only in the early stages of production Dean said he has had good feedback from the public and chefs about his avocados.
"They can taste the difference," he said.
Dean said they have also recently purchased a small mob of UltraWhite sheep.
He chose the breed because they're low maintenance, don't get flystrike and they don't need to be shorn.
"We don't have the facilities to be running sheep with wool," he said.
The UltraWhites will also suit the markets they will be looking to sell into.
"I want to sell them as off-season lambs," he said.
Dean said he likes to have multiple enterprises because they had become too potato centric, which made it a difficult time when the potato market was de-regulated.
Having multiple enterprises also means they are receiving a more consistent income/cashflow.
"I like diversification, we were relying too much on the one thing for a while," he said