JAN and Geoff Coghill, Ke Warra Poll Herefords, Moorooduc, participated in the Royal Melbourne Show for the first time last year, and won grand champion bull with one of the two bulls they entered in the competition.
The Ke Warra stud is based on a foundation of cows selected from the Hilandale stud, Moorooduc, of Ms Coghill’s family, the Robinsons, in 2003.
Ms Coghill said her parents and grandparents competed in the Royal Melbourne Show annually, but she and Mr Coghill had only ever competed locally.
“My family used to show, we did it every year for about thirty years,” Ms Coghill said.
“Last year the family thought we had a particularly good animal, with good figures and conformation, who had already had local show success, and we considered that he may be successful at Melbourne.”
The two bulls they entered won each of their classes, with Ke Warra Albatross going on to win Grand Champion Hereford Bull, and the bulls winning champion pair of bulls.
The Coghills run a total of about 100 Poll Herefords on the 60 hectares they own and lease just off the Moorooduc Highway.
Ms Coghill said her family had always bred Poll Herefords, ever since their stud was established in the 1950s.
“We like them because of their docility, it’s really important for them to be docile,” she said.
They said they’ve shared good quality sires with another breeder, as a way of affording high quality genetics.
“Our first big purchase was Allendale Robin Hood, and then Days Brigadier, who were bought with Phil Gay from the Heatherington Poll Hereford stud,” Mr Coghill said.
“We share possession of the bull with him, we have him for half of the year, and he has him for the other half.”
Mr Coghill said the arrangement has worked out well for both parties.
“We agreed on the type of bull we were after, we both needed the same sort of genetics,” he said.
“The half of the year that he wants him, we don’t need him, so it means we don’t have to care for him then.”
He said David Meikle, Tarwin Poll Herefords, Meeniyan, has also come on board as a semen purchaser.
“It just means that all three of us can look to buy a bull of very good quality, but it’s much cheaper than buying it outright.”
They said they’ve now sold Robin Hood to Kanimbla Poll Herefords, Holbrook, NSW, but that his progeny are “excellent”.
They said they also intend to sell their Melbourne Show winners Albatross and Aristotle, at the Hereford sale at Wodonga in May this year.
Cows are joined in November and December, to calve in July and August.
Mr Coghill said calving has been a significant focus over the last few years.
“We wanted to breed for easy calving, and now we basically have no calving problems because we’ve selected the right sires,” he said.
“We have been consistent in seeking to produce quality moderate cattle, the sires and semen that we have bought have enabled us to make steady progress in achieving those aims.
“When you’ve now got a cow that’s a Robin Hood cow, and you put another, good quality sire on top of that, you end up with some amazing progeny.”
Mr and Ms Coghill said this year will only be the second time they have participated in Stock & Land Beef Week, having first taken part a few years ago.
“We figure we’ve got more to offer this year, so why not show off what we’ve got?” Ms Coghill said.