The Greswick Angus herd

After the closure of the dairy on the home property 'Hilmont', Angus beef cattle were selected for their easy calving, easy care and superior fertilily.

The Greswick Angus herd comprises 200 performance recorded stud animals and 400 commercial Angus animals, operating on properties within the Hunter Valley of NSW.

The Greswick Angus stud herd operates on the home property at Seaham. Stud foundation females were purchased from the Merric Performance Angus (Scone) and Oak Hill Angus (Walcha) complete herd dispersals. Other females have been selectively added to the core breeding herd and include genetics from Booroomooka and Farrer herds. These animals were primarily chosen for their depth of breeding over many years and for providing a solid base for future breeding.

Each year large artificial insemination (AI) programs are conducted on-farm by John, using both proven and new genetics to complement the base attributes within each female. Using a high proportion of sires with documented and superior genetic merit, along with high EBV accuracies and known pedigrees, John individually mates breeding stock consistent with their aims of producing functional breeding animals suitable for a range of markets.

Through intensive sire selection, use of AI and strict culling, genetic progress is fast-tracked. All stud animals have well documented pedigrees registered with the Angus Society and animals are performance recorded through Breedplan. Each animal is individually identified to enable the collection of detailed animal statistics from birth to sale.

Operating on leased properties are commercial Angus breeders, joined to Greswick Angus stud bulls or selectively artificially inseminated. To maintain maximum numbers of breeding stock, steer calves are sold off as weaners at 8-10 months and a proportion of weaner heifers are retained as replacements, either for commercial herd replacement or for sale as breeding stock.

The Greswick Angus breeding program produces animals suitable for a range of markets, always conscious that a tender meat product needs to be delivered at the end of the marketing chain. Only best practice stock handling procedures are used in the regular handling and inspection of the herd. A lot of emphasis is placed on cattle temperament so customer satisfaction results from easy care animals.