Maleny Beef operates alongside our beef cattle stud. In 2000 we founded Balmoral Ridge Droughtmaster Stud with the best female genetics we could purchase. Since then we have utilised a lot of technology in promoting genetic gain - artificial insemination, embryo transfers and more recently IVF. This technology allows us to fast track genetic gain as opposed to natural means. We now have a herd of breeders of which we are very proud, and who produce the quality offspring that allows us to sell stud genetics to other cattle producers.
The object of our Stud operation is to produce quality Bulls. Having said that, sometimes too much emphasis is placed on the bull as he is only 50% of the genetic gain, and that is why we have devoted so much effort to breeding a quality female line... but back to the bulls. We are proud to have our stud bulls working in herds across Australia. From Maleny, we have bulls producing quality Australian beef in Western Australia, the Kimberleys, Nth Territory, Alice Springs, Cairns, Rockhampton and throughout Queensland.
However, just as human parents have different looking children, so too not every male beast is retained as a Stud bull. Although they have the same growth and preparation as our stud bulls, these other cattle are castrated at a young age and go on to become Maleny Beef. Their life is exactly the same as the males sold to other cattle producers, but at somewhere between 12 and 18 months of age (milk tooth) they become Maleny Beef. The quiet, healthy, free ranges of our operation make for quality tender meat.
So we produce Maleny Beef alongside stud Bulls and stud Females. Producers wishing to inquire about stud droughtmaster or genetic purchases, please contact us.
Sometimes we do not have enough cattle to meet demand and so we source cattle from other producers or meatworks. Every beast we purchase must adhere to our stringent Maleny Beef criteria. In addition to other enforced indicators, it is a strict condition that there must be no growth hormones ever used on the animal.
Wherever possible however, our first and preferred choice for Maleny beef is our own Droughtmaster cattle raised on our stud. The Droughtmaster Breed is distinctive in that it is only one of two original Australian breeds. Further, the Droughtmaster breed originated around Rockhampton in the 1940's and in 2006 was declared a Queensland Icon by the State Government. The breed is proudly displayed in the Qld Museum. Objective taste tests performed in Sydney in 2007 alongside other breeds resulted in the Droughtmaster achieving high status for flavour, marbling and tenderness - a result many Maleny Beef families will support!
