Calves from the Glencairn herd have been offered at Casterton since the weaner sales began 69 years ago, making breeder Kevin Upton the last-original vendor remaining, a tradition his nephew, Greg Richardson, is proud to continue.
Now aged 93, Mr Upton resides in Glenelg House at the Casterton Memorial Hospital and although he finds it difficult to visit his properties these days, he still keeps a close eye on the management of his Glencairn herd.
"Kevin hasn't missed a weaner sale since they started and has had some excellent sales over the years," Mr Richardson said.
"He'll be keen to hear how the sales go in the New Year."
Mr Richardson, who has worked at Glencairn since he was 16-years-old, now takes care of the 2023-hectare beef operation, which spans four properties in the Casterton area, from Chetwynd in the north to Merino in the south.
They currently have 1000 breeders, with 500 cows run in a pure Hereford herd, while the remainder are Angus and Angus-cross cows.
About 60 heifers in each herd are kept as replacements.
Glencairn will offer 100 Hereford steers, 100 Angus and Angus-cross steers and 200 Hereford and Angus heifers, all March-drop, in the Casterton weaner sales.
"We're really happy with how the calves are looking, and the last lot of rain we had will keep things going," Mr Richardson said.
"We had a really-wet winter, but the rain stopped in early September and by October it didn't look good.
"At one stage I thought we might be feeding cattle by now..
"But in the last month we've had plenty of rain which has kicked the grass off again, it's looking pretty good out here now."
He expects the top run of both Hereford and Angus steers in this year's draft to be between 300-350kg, the middle run of calves to average about 250kg, while the heifers won't be far behind.
He said Mr Upton started his herd as a young man with some Dancock-blood Herefords and over the years grew the numbers to more than 1100 cows.
Angus were introduced about 20 years ago to provide more market opportunities.
"Both breeds have their benefits, it's a good mix," Mr Richardson said.
"I like the traditional Herefords, they are good doers and mothers and very easy to handle, but there's always a market for the Angus."
Hereford bulls are sourced from Yarram Park and Injemira, while Angus genetics from the Foster family's nearby Boonaroo stud are used.
"Kevin used to select all the bulls, he had a very-good eye for livestock and loved it, I've only been doing it for the past few years," Mr Richardson said.
"We prefer to select our bulls visually, with emphasis on structure, particularly feet, frame and muscle.
"We've also made the switch to buying all Poll Hereford bulls from now on for ease of management, there's only two of us working across the four properties.
"Different sire lines have also been selected to introduce some new genetics to the Angus herd."
All the calves are yard-weaned in mid-December and supplemented with hay in small paddocks to help settle them down.
Mr Richardson said the weaner market suited their operation with their calves attracting repeat buyers, both locally and interstate.
The Glencairn Angus and Angus-cross steers will be offered through Elders on Tuesday, January 9, the Hereford steers on Wednesday, January 10, and all the heifers on Friday, January 12.
