THE GRANT family took over the Lindsay Murray Grey stud nine years ago, after having already bred their own Murray Grey cattle since 1996.
The Lindsay stud had been operating for over four decades prior, being run by previous owners the Harvey and Foster families.
Craig and Jacinta Grant were running their own Kelso Murray Grey stud when the opportunity to buy Lindsay came about.
“It was the stud we sourced our very first Murray Grey from, it was a family-owned operation, with a long Murray Grey tradition, and we were hoping to maintain that,” Mr Grant said.
“We incorporated our stud into the Linsday stud, and went with the Lindsay name.”
They now run the stud on their family property in Pigeon Ponds, where they aspire to breed high quality Murray Grey cattle.
“We want to breed a medium to larger-framed type of Murray Grey, that’s got sufficient carcase traits,” he said.
“We really value meat quality in our animals, I’m not a fan of extreme cattle in any way, shape or form.”
He said his cattle have changed to suit this market over the years.
“When I first started, people were targeting larger-framed, leaner type cattle, but now they’re focusing on muscle content and not having cattle that are too big and inefficient,” he said.
“Extreme cattle just take way too long to finish, which isn’t what the processors want, we have to try and keep up with the trends and market changes, because the cattle in moderation and with better carcase qualities are going to stand out.”
He said growth traits are incredibly important.
“They have to be able to be finished off at any age, if you want to grow the steer out, he has to be able to turn into a really heavy, grassfed animal,” he said.
“When I’m selecting bulls, they’ve got to have really good growth data.”
He said his Murray Grey cattle need to be able to standout among other beef breeds.
“We’re a stud, so we have to be competitive in the industry, not just against other Murray Grey studs, but against the whole beef industry,” he said.
“Our Murray Greys need to be producing just as good meat quality as any other Hereford or Angus herd.”
He said that Murray Grey cattle are versatile, and can suit any market.
“They’re continually winning carcase and eating quality competitions, you can sell them as calves or grow them out to be heavy steers,” he said.
“I just like how easy care they are, we always maintain that their doing ability and calving ease is outstanding.
“In a tough year, their ability to rear really good calves, without reducing their quality, is just outstanding.”
Temperament is another one of their advantages.
“They’re very quiet, which is big for me, and I think going forward, temperament is going to be more and more sought after, because it impacts quality and all sorts of things,” he said.
The stud will offer bulls, cows and heifers at its upcoming on-property sale towards the end of February.
“We’re trying to build the business of selling females a bit more, so we can get some more females out there and build the commercial base,” he said.
“We usually sell a few females, but it’s very seasonal, and depends whether there’s demand for them or not.”
Mr Grant said you never know where demand will come from.
“Last year we sold bulls to six states, all states but the Northern Territory,” he said.
“We’ve got a few purebred herds locally that buy bulls, but also a lot out of South Australia and New South Wales.”
He said it’s been a good time to be in the agriculture industry.
“Farming is very rewarding at the moment, and one thing I have noticed in the last couple of years is that young people are excited about being in the rural sector again,” he said.
“When we were having ordinary returns and poor seasons, young people were leaving in droves, but that seems to have flipped in recent times.”