Agricultural
5 July, 2023
Breeding ‘Australia’s Natural Wonder’
Australia’s beef cattle industry is one of the nation’s biggest export earners and because of our harsh and unpredictable climate a specialised cattle breed is needed to survive during drought conditions when good pasture is scarce.
The Droughtmaster Breeders Association has labelled Droughtmaster cattle as “Australia’s Natural Wonder” and with good reason as they are ideally suited to the Australian climate and method of farming.
One of Queensland’s most successful Droughtmaster studs is Oakmore Park just outside the small village of Greenmount where Sharon and Greg Harms have been breeding Droughtmaster cattle for over 20 years.
Sharon and Greg explained how their own decision to specialise in the Droughtmaster was driven by the special attributes of this very adaptable breed of cattle.
One such attribute was the breed’s walking ability and while this might not seem obvious at first, the size of Australian cattle properties dictates that the cattle are capable of walking from one paddock to another in search of good pasture and possibly some distance away.
That the breed is also very docile in nature is another attribute that Sharon said is important as many Australian farms are family run and the thought of aggressive cattle is not one many cattle graziers will accept when their children help work the farm.
Mothering ability, resistance to parasites and fertility are other attributes of the breed which helps make them financially viable.
Greg pointed out that the erratic nature of the Australian climate, where we go from good seasons to drought, demands that the breed can maintain condition during marginal seasons when natural pasture is scarce and they are able to feed on a variety of feed substitutes.
The continued success of Oakmore Park Stud is very much as a result of careful genetic selection in their breeding program as the Harms work to maintain the special attributes of the Droughtmaster breed.
Oakmore Park is home to a number of outstanding Droughtmaster bulls with names such as Billabong Knightly, Araketa Stanley and Araketa James.
Semen from Oakmore Park bulls is available for purchase for artificial insemination and is sold to producers around Australia.
Sharon and Greg also take bulls and females to a number of sales such as the National Bull Sale in Rockhampton in September, Roma Bull Sale in October, and the National Female Sale in Gympie in March.
The Oakmore Park dams are the cornerstone of the breeding program and they must consistently deliver true to type progeny that thrives in all seasons.
Sharon said their seed stock represent years of meticulous selection that emulates fertility, consistency and weight for age and so the important attributes of the Droughtmaster breed is passed on to the next generation.
“We run our stud cows in two separate herds with their selected bulls, we wean at home and prepare all our sale bulls here and we also prepare our show team at home,” Sharon said.
Besides work on the Oakmore Park property, Sharon is kept busy as the Chair of the Roma Droughtmaster Bull Sale and has an active role in numerous events and committees of the Droughtmaster Society.
Sharon and Greg have obviously gained a wealth of knowledge in their twenty years of breeding Droughtmaster cattle and eagerly pass on this knowledge as they accept students from Downlands College in Toowoomba and James Cook University in Townsville for work placements.
The Droughtmaster cattle breed is important for the continued success of the Australian cattle industry and the Harms at Oakmore Park Stud are certainly doing all they can to maintain the attributes of the Droughtmaster breed so it remains “Australia’s Natural Wonder” well into the future.
