Lynton Harrison and Samantha O’Donnell pride themselves on the enterprise’s enhanced breeding program, which ensures their Charolais herd delivers excellent calving ease and provides optimal growth of calves.
“A producer can finish calves later or can finish them young,” Mr Harrison said.
“We aim for early maturity rather than have them big and heavy late; we are good at getting them heavy and getting them heavy soon.
“One thing we look at, though, is not having them too large.”
Positive IMF content and high overall indexing are also traits of the breed, and Belbourie Park boasts of having optimised its program to develop the modern Australian Charolais.
Customers range in location from Victoria to Queensland with a stark contrast in prices between both states.
“Last year we sold some bulls for $17,000, and there can be a seven grand difference between north and south,” Mr Harrison said.
“Buyers do come down from up north, but a lot of them buy sight unseen; they trust me to send the bulls that are right, and that trust is a good selling point.”
“We don’t sell anything that people aren’t happy with because I don’t send up anything that I am not happy with.”
The Charolais bulls bred at Belbourie are very quiet, with most of the stock gentle enough to pat.
“We cull anything that’s wild; we don’t tolerate anything that plays up,” Mr Harrison said.
“There’s no point having a good breeding bull if he’s going to throw you over the fence.
“Therefore, our cattle are extremely quiet; in fact we have customers who cannot believe how quiet they are.
“They are really doughy bulls.”
Bulls will be offered for private sale during 2023, with inspections arranged by appointment.
