Square Meaters a joy

Glenn and Emma Joy first purchased five Square Meater cows 12 years ago, and their hobby has fast become a business, with the couple now running about 40 breeders.

"We were looking for something that was easy to handle – we had previously purchased cattle that were difficult," Mrs Joy said.

"We both work outside the farm, so we needed low maintenance, low birth-weight cattle – we didn't have time to be pulling calves.

"They also had to be early maturing so we didn't have to hang on to them for too long."

This had them turning to the Square Meaters – a relatively new breed at the time.

Sourcing their foundation stock through two studs that have now dispersed, the Joy family were specific about what direction they wanted their breeding to head from the start.

"We looked at quite a few before purchasing, and selected a line of cows that were uniform, had good confirmation and were true to the breed," Mr Joy said.

Being a new breed, the Joys were involved with plenty of promotion of Square Meaters in the early days of their stud, and soon found they were turning clients away.

Mr Joy said the demand was there, so they took the opportunity, purchased more land and increased their stud to 40 head.

"The key for us was true to the breed type, which meant compact, fat cows," he said.

Now running a total of about 80 head on 48 hectares, the Joys said the breed had a good DSE-carrying capacity (and they were situated in heavy carrying capacity area) making their property self-sustainable.

And despite the growth of the stud, the demand for their stock is still rolling in.

"Bulls from the property head to commercial properties for use in crossbred herds – they put stockiness in leggy breeds – or over first-calving heifers because of their low birth-weight, averaging 28 kilograms," Mrs Joy said.

"Bulls also fit dairy markets – we had a local producer do trials with his dairy cattle and found they reached the same weight earlier in life."

Bred for the domestic beef market, Square Meater steers at Highbury are generally turned off at between 10-12 months at about 350kg liveweight, equating to a 200kg carcase.

"We sell through the Leongatha store sales and often get repeat buyers," Mrs Joy said.

"We can sell direct to works, but through the saleyards is a good promotional tool – people see the steers and come back for seedstock."

But the main focus at Highbury was on the girls, and Mrs Joy said their cattle produce high-quality female lines, and often still don't have enough to meet demand.

"Our main market is females, because we are particular about true to type and temperament," she said.