Foundation females from Beartooth in USA, Mindabarra and Baldrudgery were used in an ET program but numbers did not increase as rapidly as we had hoped and in May 1995 we purchased about 35 females with heifers at foot from the dispersal of the Yarrow Hereford Stud in Victoria’s Western District and in September 1995 over 40 females with heifer calves at foot from the dispersal of the Ingawarra Poll Hereford Stud in Keith South Australia. We have introduced no female cattle since but have relied on AI to broaden our genetic base.
We have shown cattle in the past including Royal Show Champions and Reserve Champions but our emphasis has increasingly been placed on genetic improvement through performance recording. The commercial herd was recorded with the NBRS in 1980 and we are foundation members of Group Breedplan.
By 2015 I had decided to hold a clearance sale as I was getting on in years and had no obvious successor. By then we were tagging about 260 calves a year. The sale was held in February of yet another drought year when nobody had any feed or water but buyers came from NSW, SA and WA as well as from Victoria. Bulls sold to $20,000 and PTIC cows to $8500 but the clearance was disappointing although more found good homes afterwards. I had planned to stop breeding but could not bear to send so many good cows to the sale yards and set about rising from the ashes on a reduced acreage. We have now reached our target of 80 calves a year which promise to be second to none.