Bridgetown cattle producers Gerald and Denice Young have had plenty of reasons to celebrate this year, with a number of milestones making 2016 one they will always remember.
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The celebrations began when the couple were named Western Australia’s MSA Producer of the Year, which recognises the state’s top cattle producers who have achieved outstanding compliance rates to the Meat Standards Australia (MSA) specifications for cattle graded during the 2014-2015 season.
This was just the beginning with Denice then celebrating her 30th anniversary working at the Bridgetown hospital along with her 50th birthday.
To top it all off, the happy couple decided to get married, surprising the guests at the birthday party.
“It all happened on the same weekend,” she said.
“Some of the staff from the hospital went into town and brought back a bottle of bubbles to celebrate my 30 years at the hospital which was really nice.
“There has been a lot of change over the years.
“The nurses uniforms have changed a lot and the Matrons uniform was nice. It has been a great place to work and I still enjoy being there.
“That same weekend it was my wedding day and my 50th birthday, so it was very special.”
Gerald Young was hoping to marry Denice a few years ago, but Denice wanted to enjoy the milestones and celebrations all at once by combining her 50th with a surprise wedding.
“Getting married felt really good, I had to wait for a few years but it was worth it,” he said.
Gerald and Denice run Angus-Friesian cows joined to Simmental bulls providing about 60 MSA-graded vealers each year.
The Youngs won the MSA title from a field comprising more than 1500 registered producers in WA who consigned cattle during the 2014-2015 financial year.
“It has been an unbelievable year so far, it has made our lives together really interesting,” he said.
“We work together and get along like a house on fire, that is how we won the award.
“To be the first farmers in WA to win this award was just fantastic as far as I am concerned.
“I think the reason our cattle do so well is that we treat them like pets. We never yell at them and we do all the work ourselves.
“We don’t use dogs as I think the cattle are more difficult to manage when they are trying to protect their calves from a dog.
“When we go into the paddocks the bulls and the cows all come up to us and they like to be petted or scratched. There is no stress in their lives and that is why the meat does so well.”