The
History of Lowline Cattle
from the American Lowline Registry website
www.usa-lowline.org
by David Barnett, OBE Foundation Member
Australian
Lowline Cattle were developed from the
Angus herd which was established
at the Trangie Research Centre in 1929
to provide quality breeding stock for
the NSW cattle industry. The Angus
breed has its origins in eastern Scotland,
in the counties of Aberdeen and Angus,
where it was developed from the native
black hornless cattle.
There are charters dating back to the
16th century which mention black hummel
oxen, and even earlier stone carvings.
A single breed was evolved by Hugh Watson
of Keillor, Angus, and William McCombie
of Tillyfour, Aberdeenshire.
Black cattle were imported into Tasmania
from New Zealand in 1822 and then from
Tillyfour in 1853. About this time the
Aberdeen Angus began to spread around the
world, to England, France, Ireland and
North America. They are now dominant in
the biggest North and South American cattle
herds, superseding Shorthorns and Herefords,
and they provide three quarters of New
Zealand's beef.
Trangie's foundation stock were purchased
first from Canada and comprised two bulls,
Glencarnock Revolution and Brave Edward
Glencarnock, a cow and calf, and 17 heifers
from the Glencarnock Stud, Brandon Canada.
The bulls were from the Blackcap Revolution
family, which won consistently at Chicago
International Show during the 1920's.
The Trangie herd maintained that tradition
at the Sydney Royal Show. Brave Edward
Glencarnock, a grandson of Blackcap Revolution,
sired several Sydney Royal Show champions,
including Trangie exhibits which won the
Narrangullen Cup three times. The progeny
of the cow Glencarnock Eurotia 4th won
many prizes at the Sydney Royal Show. Among
the prizewinning progeny were champion
bulls Trangie Prism and Trangie Edward
4th, the twice champion cow Trangie Eurotia
2nd, and several reserve champions. Another
cow, Blackcap Bixie 2nd was imported carrying
Glencarnock Blackcap Eric which was champion
bull at Sydney in 1933.
The Trangie herd was reinforced with further
imports from Canada, the United States
of America and Scotland between 1930 and
1950. Revolution of Page 28th was imported
from the US, and his progeny included Trangie
Susan which won junior champion heifer
in 1941 and Trangie Page 52nd, which was
reserve champion bull in 1944.
Everside 2nd of Maisemore was imported
from England in 1941 and Erision of Harviestoun
was purchased for 3,000 guineas from the
Dalmeny Stud of Scotland in 1947, followed
by four Dalmeny bloodline heifers in 1948.
Eblinettes General of Ada and two heifers,
Craven's Revolution Blackcap 7th and Lady
Glencarnock 4th were imported from Canada
in 1947, along with three heifers from
the Andeot Stud of Maryland.
The Trangie Research Centre continued
to exhibit at the Sydney Royal during the
1940's and 1950's, winning four champion
bull awards, as well as supreme champion
in 1954 with Trangie Anthony and supreme
champion in 1955 with Trangie Erison 46th.
The last imported bull was Pro Ben of Balfron,
which was brought from Scotland in 1956.
Bulls were bought from leading New South
Wales studs Wambanumba, Glengowan, Tulagi
and Wallah between 1961 and 1964, and the
herd was then closed to outside animals.
The Angus herd was now firmly established
in Australia, with extensive commercial
herds throughout the New South Wales and
Victorian tablelands, but with a strong
presence elsewhere. The cows calved easily,
and the product was sought after for the
developing export trade to Japan.
The emphasis at Trangie switched to research,
and in 1963 the Australian Meat Research
Committee asked the Trangie Research Centre
to conduct a project aimed at establishing
the role of performance recording in the
breeding program of a herd. Equal emphasis
was given to weight gain and to visual
conformation score in the selection of
replacement bulls and heifers. The project
continued until 1970, pioneering performance
testing in Australia, and demonstrating
successfully the usefulness of measuring
performance in a stud herd.
From 1971 and 1973 trials were conducted
using objective measurement and appraisal
by experienced stud breeders in the selection
of replacement bulls and heifers. The herd
was divided into two, with the results
indicating that performance testing compared
with the assessment of experienced stud
breeders assessing growth potential.
The trials which produced the Lowline
breed began in 1974, with funding from
the Meat Research Corporation, to evaluate
selection for growth rate on herd profitability.
The aim was to establish whether large
or small animals were more efficient converters
of grass into meat. This trial continued
for 19 years.
The Trangie staff chose one herd selected
for high yearling growth rates and another
selected for low yearling growth rates,
with a randomly selected control group.
The dubbed the herds High Line, Low Line
and Control Line. Satellite herds were
established at Glen Innes in the northern
tablelands of NSW and at Hamilton in the
Western Districts of Victoria to enable
climate to be taken into account.
The program involved a detailed evaluation
of weight gain, feed intake, reproductive
performance, milk production, carcass yield
and quality and structural soundness.
The original Low Line herd comprised 85
cows, which were joined to yearling bulls
also selected for low growth from birth
to yearling age. From 1974, the Low Line
herd remained closed, with all the replacement
bulls and heifers selected from within
the line.
The protein conversion performance of
the High Line and Low Line animals was
monitored on an individual basis, and then
recorded. The Trangie Research Centre concluded
that the High Line animals were about five
percent more efficient converters of grass
to meat than the Low Line. Nevertheless,
the computer printouts which showed the
best performers were High Lines and the
least effective performers were Low Lines,
also showed that for the great bulk of
High Lines and Low Lines their efficiency
as protein converters were much the same.
After 15 years of selective breeding,
the Low Line herd had stabilized at about
30 percent smaller than the High Line cattle.
The bulls were maturing at about 43 inches,
and the cows at about 39 inches or less,
against 59 inches for standard Angus bulls,
and close to the same height for standard
Angus cows.
Mr. Ian Pullar, a grazier from Armidale,
secured 43 cows and then two bulls from
the satellite herd at Glen Innes and registered
the Australian Boutique Cattle Association
as an umbrella organization. His interest
save from extinction what, through no plan
by the Trangie Research Centre, had become
a new breed of cattle, a breed which had
the desirable characteristics of the Angus
breed, but which was only about 39 inches
high. They are smooth, free from waste,
and produce high quality meat. They are
free from the eye cancer which plagues
the Hereford, and they have proved adaptable
to Australian conditions. Being descended
from stock which have been handled in Australia
for 60 years, they were also exceptionally
docile.
Ian Pullar secured publicity for his herd
of miniature cattle, and there was immediate
interest. Some Low Line bulls and heifers
were sold by tender. Although the Trangie
Research Centre retains some of its herd
as a stud, its emphasis now is on research,
and the spurt of interest in experimental
as opposed to stud animals was unexpected.
The Trangie researchers headed by Peter
Parnell had not set out to create a new
breed. Their aim was a controlled experiment
in meat production. But they were good
cattlemen , and their selection process
produced a Low Line herd with the excellent
conformation of their other stock. They
were bemused by the interest which developed
in the Low Lines, and then gratified.
The NSW Agricultural Department was proposing
to terminate the experiment, sending the
cattle from the trial to abattoirs for
slaughter. After some hesitation, and after
strong representation, auction sales were
held at Glen Innes and at Trangie. At the
Trangie sale on August 8, 1992, nine bulls,
23 heifers and seven cows were sold for
a total of $19,475. Seven purchasers -
Ian Pullar, David Barnett, Des Owens, Don
Burke, Carolyn Tebbutt, Kevin Everson and
Bob Pringle - then met beneath a gum tree
at the Trangie Centre auction site to form
the Australian Lowline Cattle Association,
adopting the name LOWLINE. Those names
appear in the Herd Book as foundation members.
The complete dispersal sale occurred on
October 30 at Trangie in 1993, when 20
bulls were sold, together with 44 cows
and 51 heifers, for a total of $228,200.,
on lively bidding, from all mainland states.
The Australian Lowlines are of champion
stock with an Australian history dating
back to 1929, and beyond that in Canada,
the United States, England and Scotland.
They are docile, and well conformed. They
offer small holders and those farmers with
limited acreage available from their other
activities the option of keeping docile
cattle of high quality. The Scots who first
developed black cattle would be as proud
of the Lowlines as of any of their giant
cousins. They made their first appearance
at the Brisbane Royal National in 1994,
and subsequently at the Sydney Royal Show
in 1995, and Melbourne and Canberra Royals
in 1996. They are now regular exhibits
at agricultural shows around Australia.
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