Lowline Cattle

About Donovans Knob Farm

The farm and Stud was non existent until we built it up from scratch, in the early 1990's with the purchase of our first registered Lowline heifers in 1995. The farm was named after the Donovans Knob, adjacent to the farm, the most prominent feature on the Blackall Range at 640 metres. We are a short distance away from Maleny village, and the Sunshine Coast beaches about 40 minutes drive.

We breed Australian Lowline cattle from pure bred registered stock on the property using natural and AI/ET technology to produce varied genetic traits as required by our customers.

As the cost of producing pure bred cattle are significant, we are also breeding Lowline cross cattle, using registered Lowline Bulls with Angus and Poll Hereford cows. This activity is generating additional beef numbers to supply the carcase trade, along with culled Lowline bulls, steers and cows. We have found that it is impossible to keep up with the demand for Lowline/Hereford Steers (Black Baldies) from buyers and butchers, as they are highly sought after.

Interested in owning Lowline Cattle?

Lowline cattle are a unique Australian developed pure breed of beef cattle. They were originally bred from selected local and overseas champion Aberdeen Angus cattle by the NSW Dept. of Agriculture at the Trangie Research Station, from 1974 to the early 1990's.

Aberdeen Angus are one of the few pure breeds of cattle still in existence, and as a result, Lowline cattle are still a pure breed of cattle.

The Australian Lowline were the result of the single trait of low growth rate selection on Angus at yearling age, and is the smallest commercial beef breed available.

Australian Lowline cattle have Qualities and Benefits which give them advantages over other cattle breeds

• Significantly smaller than a standard Aberdeen Angus, they are ideal for small acreages, enabling higher stocking rates on small sized farms
• Docility, ease of handling, naturally polled and easy calving are features of the breed
• Beef quality equal to the best Angus with smaller cuts for the discriminating Restaurant trade and developed to surpass stringent Australian Beef Standards
• Early maturing, feed efficient cattle, with low overheads and minimal infrastructure needs

Options available to new breeders

• Purchasing all your own breeding stock. You can breed using natural paddock mating, which is relatively slow and expensive. Alternatively, purchase mature females or maiden heifers and AI using selected semen from a chosen sire. A little quicker and less expensive, and giving you more choice of genetics
• Purchase PTIC Recipient Cow(s) which have been implanted with an embryo from a registered Lowline Donor cow. A lot less expensive and subject to guarantees, you may have your own calf on the ground much quicker
• Any combination of the above options. Buy your own Lowline Bulls, Heifers, Cows, Cow and Calf, Cow in Calf, PTIC Recipient, Embryos and Semen. Work with Donovans Knob to help manage your program, agist cattle and undergo AI/ET activities
• Also available are commercial activities such as crossbreeding using Lowline Bulls, producing Lowline Cross Steers

Other Things you should know

To breed Australian Lowline cattle, only pure bred cattle can be registered. Both Sire & Dam must already be registered with ALCA to register offspring.

You must be a member of ALCA to register cattle in your stud name.

There is no "grading up" as in other breeds. All offspring must now be DNA'd for parentage verification for registration to be accepted.

Membership in the ALCA is open to anyone interested in furthering the aims of the Lowline breed.

Talk to us about your plans and what you would like to achieve with cattle breeding, or just the need to have a few head on a couple of acres!

Glossary