With 54 years of breeding experience under its belt, Mount William Charolais stud, Willaura, is well placed to meet the current and future needs of commercial cattle producers.
The stud, established in 1969, was one of Australia's foundation Charolais breeding operations when Robert Barr Smith bought into the first semen imports from the UK in the 1960s.
He had seen the breed in his travels through the UK, France and Mexico and thought Charolais would do well in Australian conditions.
Today, Mr Barr Smith's grandson Rob Abbott and his wife Victoria are continuing to progress genetic improvements in the stud, using leading Australian and overseas sires.
The pair have 400 Charolais stud breeders on 1450 hectares and agist another 150 head of Angus/Wagyu-cross stock.
Their core Charolais breeding herd descends from Mr Barr Smith's original foundation stud and new bloodlines are introduced each year from from Australian, New Zealand, Canadian and US breeders.
"We have that longevity of experience with the breed and we think it has a very bright future," Mr Abbott said.
In recent years, the Abbotts have sourced top sale catalogue bulls from Palgrove, Dalveen, Qld, and Rosedale, Blayney, NSW.
Each year about 70 cows are impregnated through artificial insemination, using top-end Charolais sires.
Mr Abbott said they wanted to breed functional cattle with a strong emphasis on good temperament.
"Initially, when the stud started, it used a base of Friesian and Shorthorn cows which were inseminated with full French Charolais bulls," he said.
"There is no better breed around in terms of weight for age and my grandfather was really ahead of his time in using Charolais bulls.
"Nothing beats a Charolais for infusing fast growth and efficient feed conversion into an animal.
"So long as producers are paid for how much their cattle weigh, then Charolais will maintain this advantage."
Mr Abbott said it was not the colour of the coat that mattered in the end, but the performance of the animal.
"I believe, like with all things, the most efficient and profitable breeds will become the backbone of the Australian cattle industry going forward," he said.
"Charolais have been able to continually adapt to the Australian environment from the north to the south to cater for changing markets and consumer demands."
When Mount William had established a purebred Charolais herd, the focus was then on progressing growth and weight-for-age traits.
Structure, temperament and fertility have also always been key drivers in the stud.
"Basically, profit-driving characteristics have been at the forefront," Mr Abbott said.
"My grandfather was very hard on selection for feet and legs.
"This has resulted in a very sound herd of Charolais cattle.
"These factors ring true today, with the addition of aiming to soften our cattle without taking any of the power out of them."
This year, Mount William Charolais has catalogued 46 rising two-year-old Charolais bulls for Stock & Land Beef Week and its on-property sale on February 10.
Mr Abbott said the draft of bulls was continually improving, which was an indication the stud's breeding and genetic improvement program was working.
"The major thing we are seeing year-on-year is the depth in our draft is really progressing," he said.
"The genetic investments we have made, and the careful mating selections using strong Charolais family bloodlines, is accelerating the quality in our herd - which stands on 50-plus years of quality foundations.
"It's really exciting to watch that unfold.
"I think if my grandfather could see some of the bulls we are producing, he would be proud of the journey he set out on and the direction the Charolais breed has taken in this country."
Mount William has participated in Stock & Land Beef Week since the event's inception.
Mr Abbott said it was a great promotional event for the stud.
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He said his return clients knew that Mount William would have some of its best cattle on display during the field day.
"It usually occurs one to two weeks before our sale, which is ideal as a practice run for the cattle," he said.
He said there wre a couple of exceptional bulls in this year's draft.
Mr Abbott said the past 12 months had been exciting for the stud.
"In September 2022, we attended the annual Palgrove Charolais bull sale in Queensland and purchased a new leading stud sire for our herd," he said.
"We bought Palgrove Rain Dance for $45,000 in a strong sale that averaged over $28,000 for 100 Charolais bulls.
"Back in February, on the home front, our 23rd sale was successful.
"We had a top price of $23,500 paid for Mount William Rome, which is a son of Palgrove Moderator, and this went to Talgoona Charolais, Yerong Creek, NSW."
Mr Abbott attended the Melbourne Royal Show late last year to celebrate Charolais' 50th anniversary showing at the special event.
In the near future, the Abbotts are planning to expand their commercial cattle venture - which operates alongside the stud.
"The aim is to build up a commercial female base using mostly Angus and Shorthorn females and breed our bulls over them to produce that quality Charolais-cross calf," Mr Abbott said.
"We want to see strong lines of these Charolais-cross weaners in the saleyards at Colac, Mortlake and Hamilton.
"We want to create more awareness and show producers the profitability in the Charolais breed.
"Already, even with the black hide cents a kilogram premium, the Charolais-cross are still there on a dollars a head basis.
"All it will take is an equalisation of this trend and Charolais will be ahead of the game."
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