Industry Description

Beef cattle are produced across Australia on properties with a diversity of enterprises.

Specialist beef producers carried around 60 per cent of Australia's beef cattle in 1994-95, while nonspecialist beef properties carried 26 per cent.

Trends in Beef Cattle Numbers

The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimated that there were 23.6 million beef cattle in Australia at the end of March 1996 (ABARE 1996b) - an increase of around 0.6 million from the previous year. A further 2.9 million cattle of dairy breeds took the total number of cattle in Australia to 26.5 million. The March 1997 survey shows a further reduction in beef cattle numbers by approximately 225,000, while dairy cattle numbers increased by approximately 120,000.

The current beef cattle herd contrasts with a herd of 14.0 million in 1965. Beef cattle numbers increased to a peak of 29.8 million in 1976 before declining to a low of around 19.4 million in 1984.

Relatively favourable prices for beef meant that the buildup in the beef herd continued in 1993-94. However, the uptrend was halted by the spread of the drought in Queensland to the other eastern states in 1994-95.

Beef prices fell sharply in the first half of 1996, although saleyard prices had increased by mid-1996 in response to higher export returns from the Japanese market and lower cattle yardings, particularly in Queensland.

Location of Specialist Beef Producers

The nature of beef cattle production differs widely both among and within states. Production is generally more intensive in the higher rainfall regions of the southern states, with the number of cattle carried per hectare being much higher than in northern Australia.

Approximately 35 per cent of specialist beef producers were located in Queensland. A further 27 per cent were in New South Wales and Victoria, with 5 per cent in Western Australia and 6 per cent in the other states.

On average, specialist beef properties in northern Australia are much larger in terms of cattle numbers than those in the southern states. For example, the 35 per cent of specialist beef properties located in Queensland accounted for around 51 per cent of Australia's total specialist beef herd.

The larger average herd size in the north reflects the region's relatively high proportion of larger properties in terms of area and the more extensive nature of its beef production. For example, the majority of properties with more than 300 cattle are in northern Australia. Around 50 per cent of specialist beef properties carried less than 300 cattle, accounting for only 12 per cent of all cattle on specialist beef properties. 40 percent of these small specialist beef properties were located in Victoria, with 28 per cent in New South Wales and 23 per cent in Queensland. The remainder were distributed evenly between Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania.

Breed Composition

A supplementary survey on the breed composition of the beef herd was included as part of the 1990 and 1994 survey programs. A summary of the results (table 1) of these surveys are provided in this section.

Environment factors and changing markets are reshaping the cattle industry in Australia, changing it from the original composition based on British breeds, particularly the Hereford and Shorthorn. The current breed composition of the beef herd differs regionally according to management system and climate: British and European breeds predominate in the southern parts of Australia, while tropical breeds are important in northern Australia. In the last few years Angus and Angus Cross cattle have increased dramatically due to strong local and international demand for better carcase composition, especially in relation to marbling.

British breed cattle accounted for over 35 per cent of beef cattle in Australia, with Herefords alone accounting for nearly 24 per cent of the beef herd. Angus cattle were the second most common of the British breeds in Australia.

Brahman and Santa Gertrudis cattle were the most common of the tropical breeds, accounting for 18 per cent and 3 per cent respectively of the national beef herd.

Crossbred cattle represented almost a third of the national beef herd, with the most common types being Bos indicus x Bos taurus crosses. These crossbred types have been popular because of the benefits of hybrid vigour and because of the introduction of desirable tropical breed traits to British and European breed cattle.

Galloway cattle comprise a very small share of the Australian beef industry. They are numerically stronger in the south-east comer where climatic conditions are more to their liking.

Markets for Australian Beef

The Australian beef industry and its markets have undergone major developments and changes in recent years. The domestic market still remains the largest single market for Australian beef producers, using around 56 per cent of beef production. However, an increasing amount of revenue is being generated through the supply of beef to overseas markets.

Australia's beef export markets have traditionally been dominated by two major importing countries - Japan and the United States. Other notable purchasers of Australian beef include Canada, South Korea and Taiwan. The remaining portion of exports is comprised of several smaller importing nations in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Response of the Beef Industry

Beef production in Australia has altered in response to the increased demand for beef in Asian markets. Australian production previously was predominantly based on grassfed, free range cattle which produced lean beef for both Australian consumers and the US fast food (hamburger) market. In recent years, the emphasis has shifted to intensive livestock production to produce 'marbled' beef (beef with a higher fat content) to suit the demands of Asian consumers.

Market Prospects in 1996-97

Continuing high beef production in the United State is expected to be the main influence on Australian Cattle saleyard prices in 1996-97. Liquidation of the US beef herd commenced in the first half of 1996 as producers responded to high feedgrain prices and dry pasture conditions in the main cattle grazing areas. High grain prices and the associated lower feeder cattle prices reduced the profits of cow-calf operations, leading to increased slaughterings.

Growth in Live Cattle Exports

The strong growth in Australia's live cattle exports over the past five years is likely to continue as feedlots in the main buyer countries expand. Cattle shipped in the March quarter 1996 totalled 141,800 - an increase of 57 per cent over shipments in the same period of 1995.

The development of the live cattle export trade is now significant for beef producers in northern Australia.

Beef Feedlot Sector

The number and capacity of feedlots in Australia has substantially increased. The major reason for the expansion of lot feeding capacity has been access to Asian markets (particularly Japan), in which there are price premiums for beef or more consistently high quality and with a higher fat content than otherwise available from traditional range fed animals.

Galloway Cattle were in evidence in Australia long before the first officially recorded importations were introduced from Scotland in 1951. At the Port Phillip Farmers Society Show which was held on their Showgrounds adjoining Melbourne University and fronting Sydney Road, on September 29 1858, cattle exhibited were Shorthorns, Herefords, Devons, Galloways and polled Angus.

The Late Mr H E Kater of "Swatchfield" Oberon, NSW landed 12 heifers and a bull and "Wirrialpa" Pastoral Co of Hemani, NSW, imported six heifers and two bulls during the early fifties. Three heifers and one bull in the last mentioned herd were dun in colour. In March 1951, the Galloway Cattle Society of Australia was inaugurated with Mr H A Kater as President, a position he carried on for over a decade.

Cattle from these two herds were shown at Sydney Royal Show and some country shows over the next few years, but otherwise the two breeders concerned were involved with the painfully slow process of building up numbers from a small beginning.

The Garnock family from "Bukalong" Bombala, NSW imported a Galloway herd consisting of five heifers and a bull in 1955.

A small importation by, Mr C J Willis, "Starvation Nob" Lietinna, Tasmania followed some years later.

The first stud in Victoria was founded by Mr H T Cock, 'Amberley Park", Lower Plenty using "Bukalong" and "Swatchfield" stock.

At the time of the importation ban on ruminates from the UK, imposed by the Australian Government in 1958 to safeguard against blue tongue disease, there were approximately 100 breeding females in Australia. Due to the strict pure bred breeding programme (no up grading being permitted) the increase in their numbers was slow. However, the established herds were carried on faithfully and a number of new herds commenced up to and including 1968.

After 1969 Northern (New South Wales) and Southern (Victoria and Tasmania) Branches of the Galloway Cattle Society of Australia were formed.

With the lifting of importation bans in 1969 the pioneer breeders were quick to react. Importations came into Australia from NZ in a steady flow, introducing cattle with bloodlines equal to the best in the world. Large numbers of cattle have been imported from New Zealand, including the entire herd from the famous "Fork Farm" Stud.

It was not until 1971 that the attributes of the Galloway carcase were brought to the attention of beef breeders throughout Australia by winning first prize on the hook in the 12-15 months Pure Bred Led Steer class. It was the first Galloway ever exhibited in the pure bred section of the Royal Melbourne Show. The Steer cut out 250kg from 395kg live weight. Then in 1972 three Galloways were entered in the pure bred fat cattle classes in a field of 88, one winning Champion steer under 12 months.

The selection of top UK Bulls to supply semen to Australian studmen for artificial insemination programmes expanded the blood lines of the breed in Australia.

Many current Australian studs have imported selected blood lines to ensure the future of the Galloway breed. The first consignment of imported bulls since 1956, brought in through the Cocos (Keeling) Island Quarantine Station included two Galloways from the Globe herd in Canada.

History of Belted Galloways
in Australia

Registered Belted Galloways were introduced into Australia from New Zealand in 1973. The New Zealand Society was formed in 1948 following imports from the United Kingdom in 1947. This was the basis of the New Zealand herd with further imports from the United Kingdom over the next few years.

According to New Zealand records the first registered Belted Galloways were imported to Australia in 1973 by Sir Reginald Reed of the Mt Wayo stud in NSW who brought three bulls and six females from New Zealand. During the next eight years some fifty head of registered cattle were brought to Australia.

Prior to the complete ban of imported cattle into Australia in 1957 some Belted Galloway cattle were imported into Australia by Mr Blackwell of Echuca and Mr Crowe of Scone. These cattle flourished and spread all over Australia but according to New Zealand records there were no imports of registered cattle prior to 1973.

In 1976 a decision was made to include Belted Galloways in the Herd Book of the Galloway Cattle Society of Australia as a number of "Belted" enthusiasts had imported cattle from New Zealand and were establishing herds. In 1978 the Galloway Cattle Society of Australia started recording Registered Belted Galloways in a separate section of it's herd book. At that time it was decided to permit the grading up of Belted Galloways from the mating of pure bred Belted Galloway bulls to pure bred black or dun Galloway females.

An appendix was started for Belted Galloways bred up with registered Belted Galloways over registered Black or Dun Galloways.

Belted Galloways now form an important part of our Society. These spectacular animals are generally shown separately from their Galloway cousins, however, we all have the same objective in the Australian Beef Industry.

White Galloways

White Galloways have been registered with our Society since 1990. At that time, they were registered in Section 2 of our Herd Book and there has been no prejudice in our treatment of this colour pattern. They were deemed to be pure bred with no distinction from Solid Coloured or Belted Galloways who were also described as pure bred at that point in time.

Following the introduction by our Society of an upgrading system, all original pure bred cattle are now described as fullbloods while graded-up cattle with purity of 93.75% or more are described as purebred which is in accordance with Australian Beef Industry standard terminology and general usage by a considerable number of other breed Societies in this country.

In Australia, the Black, Dun or Red progeny from White Galloways in Australia are uniquely identified by a CET number and ancestral code. These animals will be classified as White Galloways, but with Black, Dun or Red colour markings. They will be eligible for Shows and Society sponsored Sales. Their progeny will be permanently identified by an ancestral code as being from White Galloway parents.

White progeny from these Black, Dun or Red Galloways will be classified as fullblood White Galloways. The Black, Dun or Red Galloways from the progeny of White Galloways are not (and will not) be classified as fullblood Black, Dun or Red Galloways. The unique CET identification system used by the Society will permanently identify future generations of cattle from White Galloways. We will be able to look at a pedigree certificate and immediately determine if a given animal had any White Galloway genetics (or Red or other colour genes) in it's ancestry.

Australian Miniature Galloways

In 1997, Federal Council introduced rules to allow the Society to register Miniature Galloways. These animals share the same rules for registration as Galloways, with the exception that they must comply to strict height regulations and not be deformed in any manner.

The main regulations are:

Males under lOOcm in height at 12 months and I IOcm at 24 months.

Females under 95cm in height at 12 months and 105cm at 24 months.

Will have (MIN) placed after their name. They will be removed from the Miniature Galloway classification if they grow so as not to qualify to the height restrictions.

The Galloway Cattle Society of Australia was formed at Sydney on 8 March 1951 by the importers of the first cattle to this country. The first President was Mr H E Kater of "Swachfield", Oberon, New South Wales.

The Society became incorporated under the Associations Incorporations Act of New South Wales on the 4 February 1988. The purpose of incorporation was to provide members with protection under the Act for public liability and other statutory matters.

In January 1992, the Society appointed Mrs Jill Craig as Executive Officer and Mr Peter Sutherland as Field Officer. These were a part time positions. The duties and responsibilities of an Executive Officer are detailed on the attached schedule while the need for a Field Officer has been terminated due to the current economic downturn in the beef industry.

The current structure of our Society is that we have members throughout New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia, Queensland and South Australia. Members in these areas are grouped into Branches or Promotional Groups on a regional or needs basis. Originally, the Branches were the main form of operations in these areas, however, as the Society and the membership expands it has been necessary to have a more flexible approach and therefore the Promotional Groups which can be more localised, now have more appeal. These local branches or Promotional Groups are supported by the Federal Society with promotional material, handouts, brochures, photographs and media releases etc to assist them in their local endeavours to promote Galloways and Galloway beef.

Each year the Society holds an Annual General Meeting at which Federal Councillors are elected. The current Constitution provides for 12 Councillors of whom 4 retire each year on a rotational basis. Therefore, members at each Annual General Meeting elect 4 Councillors to Federal Council.

Federal Council is entrusted with the responsibility of administrating and running the Society. They are the prime body responsible for making rules and regulations and supervision of the day to day administration requirements of the Society.

Following election of Federal Councillors, the members elect the Executive which comprises President, two Vice Presidents and the Treasurer. All other positions of responsibility are nominated by Federal Council on a needs basis.

The Galloway Cattle Society
of Australia, Inc. Structure

Executive Officer Duties & Responsibilities

Administration

• Memberships
• Levy's
• Registrations
• Transfers
• Banking
• Debtors/creditors

• New members
• Existing members
- Cattle enquiries:
- Transfers
- Levys
- Registrations
• Meetings/minutes
• Day to day matters/enquiries

• Galloway Annual/Newsletters
• Brochures/leaflets/flyers/photos etc
• Media liaison/articles, etc
• Shows/field days/grazing trials, etc
• Banners/photos/promotional material
• Show/sale enquiries

The Society collects its revenue by a number of means. The first of these traditional revenue measures is:

• Membership fees from stud and commercial members
• Registration fees for all calves requiring registration papers
• Transfer fees paid on animals sold

As with all business matters within a Society, the collection of revenue and the tight control of expenses is absolutely vital to ensure the Society can expand and develop the Breed throughout Australia.

Statistics

Some of the key indicators of the success of our Society is the number of members the number of active females on our inventory and the number of calves registered each year.

Attached are two schedules which show a steady growth in membership over the last decade and also growth in the number of cows listed on our inventory and the number ofcalves registered each year.

Recently, Federal Council has changed our fee structure to encourage members to register more calves each year to fill a growing demand for stud cattle. It is anticipated that this restructuring of our fees and also the end of the drought which has been present throughout eastern Australia in 1993/1994/1995 will start to show a dramatic increase in the number ofcalves registered for stud purposes each year.

Membership 1987-1996

Currently, Federal Council is working on the compilation of a Strategic Plan for our Society.

To date, we have formulated our "Mission Statement", details of our objectives and discerned the needs of our Members and their clients.

It is anticipated that this "Strategic Plan" will be finalised by the end of this year. It should provide valuable guidance to our future directions.
 
 

Objectives

The Society and its Future

1. Increase the Society's membership base.

• Seedstock
• Commercial

• Seedstock (inventory)
• Commercial

• Financial resources
• Human resources
• Information resources

Information Flow

1. Increase the two way flow of information between Council and Members.

• Document Council decisions and adequately communicate these to Members
• Encourage Members to respond to Council regarding all facets of the Society

• Climate of mutual interest
• Codes of behaviour

The Needs of Members and their Clients

1. Product development.

• Demonstrate the attributes of Australian Galloway Cattle
• Provide an appropriate product for the Australian and International Beef Industries
• Quality assurance

• Enhance market penetration of Galloway and Galloway influenced cattle
• Advertising
• Industry alliances

• Society sponsored Performance Recording
• Cooperative research ventures
• Education
• Literature

• Galloway
• Non Galloway

• Social
• A feeling of belonging
• A sense of the usefulness of their efforts

Following many years of debate and deliberations. Federal Council of our Society decided that it was an appropriate time to revise our Rules and Regulations in respect of the way that Galloway and Belted Galloway cattle were registered with the Society.

This revision of the Registration System was considered necessary to provide a simple, flexible and efficient method of registering and identifying all Galloways and Belted Galloway cattle. It was also felt that the Registration classification system should be consistent with accepted standards of the Australian beef industry whilst at the same time remain as compatible as possible with the Registration Systems of overseas Galloway and Belted Galloway cattle Societies.

In conjunction with the Agricultural Bureau Research Institute (ABRI) based at Armidale in New South Wales, a highly workable scheme has been devised that will accommodate the needs of all members. The new Registration System encompasses the following important features:

• The Registration System will detail all relevant registration information relating to Galloways and Belted Galloways.

• Full Blood animals will be those that can have their ancestry adequately documented through the existing Registration System or an animal registered in an overseas Registration System that is deemed suitable by Federal Council. These animals will be permanently identified.

• Upgrading to Pure (93.75%) status will be permitted. These animals will be permanently identified by the letter "P", and all subsequent progeny will also be similarly identified.

• A separate record (outside the Registration System) will maintain details of animals during the upgrading programme (recorded as opposed to registered).

• During an upgrading program it is proposed that members can use any base breed of either sex but Council strongly recommends solid coloured polled breeds. The base breed is to be identified on the recording certificate.

• Because of Council's commitment to protecting the desirable characteristics of Galloway and Belted Galloway * cattle, NO animal will enter the Registration System unless it is:

(i) Polled
(ii) Has adequate documentation of ancestry
(iii) Documented Mannosidosis free
(iv) True to breed type

The Society will have the power to inspect animals prior to entry into the Registration System.

* There is a possibility that due to the problems of having properly marked Belted Galloways that the base breed for grading up may be restricted to only registered Galloways or solid coloured, polled Bos Taurus breeds

Ancestral Codes

Our new registration system identifies the background breeding of an animal that will appear on all new pedigree certificates.

For example - a black Galloway animal may have RED as its ancestral code. This means there is red colour in the background pedigree of the animal.

All 12,000 animals ever listed on the system have been allocated an ancestral code, and from now on the computer system will automatically decide an animal's ancestral code.

The following are the ancestral codes and their meaning:

Fullblood Galloways

GAL present Fullblood (solid Galloways)
GAL-RED present Fullblood (solid Galloways) with Red in pedigree
WHT present Fullblood with White in pedigree
WHT-RED present Fullblood with White and Red in pedigree
BLT present Fullblood Belted Galloways
BLT-RED present Fullblood Belted with Red in pedigree

% Age or Pure Bred Galloways

BLT-GAL Belted Galloway bred from Fullblood Galloway
BLT-WHT Belted Galloway bred from Fullblood White Galloway
WHT-BLT White Galloway bred from Fullblood Belted Galloway
GAL-BLT Galloway bred from Fullblood Belted Galloway
GAL-GRD Galloway bred from other breeds
WHT-GRD White Galloway bred from other breeds
BLT-GRD Belted Galloway bred from other breeds

The following lists Standard Breed Codes for base animals in a breeding up program from another breed.

% Age or Pure Bred Galloways

BLT-GAL Belted Galloway bred from Fullblood Galloway
BLT-WHT Belted Galloway bred from Fullblood White Galloway
WHT-BLT White Galloway bred from Fullblood Belted Galloway
GAL-WHT Galloway bred from Fullblood White Galloway
GAL-BLT Galloway bred from Fullblood Belted Galloway
GAL-GRD Galloway bred from other breeds
WHT-GRD White Galloway bred from other breeds
BLT-GRD Belted Galloway bred from other breeds

What is a CET?

A Computer Equivalent Tattoo (or CET) replaces the subregister and Herd Book number that currently identifies a Galloway animal.

The CET is made up of the breeder tattoo of 3 characters (which is the current herd code), a year letter (which identifies the animal's year of birth) and the animal's tattoo. This means that the member identification, the animal's year of birth and the animal's tattoo are the only pieces of information that are needed to identify an animal.

Identifying Animals Uniquely

The year letter used to identify the year of birth is a technique used by other breed societies. This allows breeders to tattoo their animals each year starting from I e.g., an animal's tattoo may be SFG P1184, meaning that it was bred by herd SFG in 1994 (year letter P) and was tattooed with number 1184. In fact, the animal should be tattooed with PI 184. To be in line with most other breed societies, the year letters are:

1970P 1971Q 1972R 1973S 1974T 1975U 1976V 1977W 1978X 1979Y 1980Z 1981A 1982B 1983C 1984D 1985E 1986F 1987G 1988H 1989J 1990K 1991L 1992M 1993N 1994P 1995Q 1996R 1997S 1998T 1999U 2000V 2001 W 2002X 2003Y 2004Z

Animals will, from 1996, be tattooed with the breeder's herd code, the year letter and the tattoo number. The tattoo number will be used only once on an animal in a year. That means that a number should NOT be used again even if it is a different grade or colour, a bull or a cow.

Animals Already in the Herd Book

All animals currently in the Herd Book will have their subregister and Herd Book number converted to the new CET.

Animals can still be identified by the old subregister and Herd Book number. The computer system will still find those animals.

Recently Federal Council of our Society has adopted and recommended BREEDPLAN for our Members. At this stage, the provision of information to enable BREEDPLAN figures to be produced is not compulsory, however, this may be an option in the medium to long term if Galloway cattle are to remain competitive with other breeds in the Australian Beef Industry.

What is BREEDPLAN?

BREEDPLAN is a modern genetic evaluation system for beef cattle. If offers serious breeders the potential to accelerate the rate of genetic improvement in their herds, tighten up their breeding operations, improve productivity and increase sale prices of cattle sold for both breeding and slaughter.

What Is Analysed?

BREEDPLAN will analyse the performance of cattle within your herd for a range of traits, including:

1. Birth Weight
2. 200-day Growth
3. 200-day Milk (maternal effect)
4. 400-day Weight
5. 600-day Weight

6. Fat Depth
7. Eye Muscle Area
8. Scrotal Size
9. Gestation Period

BREEDPLAN EBVs

BREEDPLAN uses information from the performance of the individual calf and all its known relatives to make predictions of genetic merit. These predictions are called Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs). They are made using the Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (BLUP) technique. EBVs are more accurate than conventional indices of cattle performance (such as weight ratios) which is why their use in selection allows genetic progress to be greatly accelerated.

Separating 'Genetics' From 'Environment'

BREEDPLAN makes genetic selection a lot more straight forward by separating performance into 'Genetic' and 'Environment' components. This means that you can compare all the cattle in your herd against a standard genetic base with environmental influences removed. The trend in genetic improvement for the various traits is printed out by BREEDPLAN. You can convert this into a diagram using BREEDPLAN Graphics if you wish to see how effective your selection decisions have been over time. Environmental influences on various traits are reported separately in BREEDPLAN. This means that you can identify the seasonal influences on your herd's performance and the long term effect of practices such as pasture improvement.

National Genetic Evaluation

Once a Member has begun recording with BREEDPLAN, his herd will become eligible for inclusion in the National Genetic Evaluation Report of the Galloway breed provided there are common "link" sires. These sires create genetic linkages between the Member's herd and those of other breeders. Valid genetic comparisons between all the recorded animals in those herds can then be made.

The GROUP BREEDPLAN EBVs in this analysis and the accompanying Herd Report will allow Members and commercial cattle breeders to identify the genetically superior sires and dams for Galloways on a National basis.

This information will greatly assist you with questions such as "where do I go to find a bull that will really improve my herd genetically"? Of course, if your cattle come up as "trait leaders" for the breed, the enquiry level and value of your herd will be, hopefully, greatly enhanced.

We need to identify animals with traits desired by the customer. In other meats industries breed is less important than these traits (chicken, pork). If Galloways are used it will be because the animals have these desired traits and can be identified. If they are not identified, Galloways will not be used on a breed reference, and even our cattle with the proper qualifications, will be left out of the selection process.

It is hoped that the use of BREEDPLAN as a tool to monitor and improve the genetic performance of Galloways will give our Society the impetus to compare our cattle with the best of other breeds.

It is up to the members of our Society, who are not only responsible for preservation of the Galloway breed, (but also responsible for the promotion and breeding of the correct type of cattle) to comply with current consumer demands.

Some Current Facts

Saleyard price of 450kg steers prime condition $1.05 -$1.12 per kilo live weight
 

Reference:
* Coles Supermarket, Turramurra (Sydney suburb)-II June 1997
* Turramurra Butchery (Sydney suburb) - II June 1997