Boambee Angus Stud: Top Angus cattle in the Hunter Valley

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The Angus has been the breed of choice for the Duncan family since 1995.

Margo Duncan runs the business with her daughters Kerrie Taylor and Pennie Lieb, and her son-in-law Aaron Lieb, from Sinclair's Point in East Seaham in the Hunter region of New South Wales, which has been in the family for four generations.

The stud business is managed by Jamie Grosser, who arrived at Boambee to help for a week in 2015 and never left and has become a valued part of the operation with his depth of knowledge and passion for the industry.

The family also owns Balickera, Rosehill, and Oaklands, located within 10km of each other. Sinclair's Point has been in the family since 1968, with the most recent property added in 2023. The Duncan's country lies along the Williams River in the lower Hunter Valley, with close to 6km of river frontage. The river flats are rich and fertile with natural and pasture-improved country, which runs into hilly country where natural grasses are produced.

Jamie said the family initially got into Angus production due to the breeds' doability and longevity, and its suitability to their country and breeding operation.

"They proved themselves over the other breeds with their protective mothering and ability to forage very well. The characteristics of the Angus breed are well sought after within our area and the cattle go on to be successful in the restocking, feedlot, and abattoir markets. Angus cattle finish easily on grass or grain depending on the customer's requirements," he said.

The family took the plunge into seedstock production in 2017 by establishing the Boambee stud herd.

They bought the first of their foundation females at the Witherswood female sale that year, and in 2018 they brought home three more decks of females from the Witherswood Dispersal Sale.

"We've since added lovely females from the Texas, Ben Nevis, and Premier studs, and some of our stud sires are from Millah Murrah, Karoo, Te Mania, and Knowla."

He said the quality of the Angus breed has improved dramatically over the years.

"This includes temperament, structure, and fertility. The breed has increased in growth and capacity and is excelling in the consumer market purely for their eating quality."

Jamie said they focus their core breeding objectives on the industry's demands.

"We breed good, functional cattle that can handle a variety of climates and ground, longevity is a must, as is structural soundness and temperament. We believe the paddock-to-plate philosophy is an important factor in breeding beef cattle so we strive to ensure our cattle have the traits that the end consumer most desires by producing soft, tender, and flavoursome beef."

In the Boambee herd what you see, is what you get on paper.

"We have focused heavily on improving our EBVs, while not taking away from the visual characteristics that are expected of the Angus breed."

The Gallagher scanning and weighing systems and Agriwebb cloud-based animal and total farm management software, have helped the family to improve their record-keeping across the board.

"This in turn provides us with up-to-date information at our fingertips."

Boambee cattle are sold directly out of the paddock, through the saleyards, or into the feedlot and abattoir.

"Our runs of weaners are sold in early summer and early to mid-autumn, otherwise we have cattle moving off as need be."

Artificial insemination programs are run in autumn and spring for all Boambee stud females.

"Our AI programs have proven to be successful and have brought plenty of new genetics into our herd. We source our AI sires primarily from Australia and the USA. We're excited about the females we have selected for our donor program. These females have been flushing exceptionally well and we saw their progeny in the flesh for the first time in spring of 2023, when our embryo transfer calves hit the ground.

"In a short number of years, and with plenty of hard work, we are gearing up for our first on-property bull and female sale. Before this year we sold our stock straight from the paddock. We are very excited for this next step."

This sale will be held on Friday, August 9, with 30 stud bulls, eight stud females and close to 80 commercial yearling heifers to be offered.

Prior to this, Boambee will host an open day on Friday, July 12 from 10am to 4pm on-property at East Seaham, NSW.

For further information, please visit the Boambee Angus website or call Jamie Grosser on 0429 266 881.

THIS IS BRANDED CONTENT FOR BOAMBEE ANGUS STUD