History Of The Lowline Breed

Tyler, 5 years old, shows Crystal ,
a 6 month old Lowline heifer weighing 344 lb.

Lowline Cattle were developed from the Australian Angus herd established at the Trangie Research Centre in 1929 to provide quality breeding stock for the NSW cattle industry.

Trangie's foundation stock were purchased from Canada and reinforced with further imports from Canada , the United States of America and Scotland from 1930 to 1950.

The Australian Meat Research Committee sponsored a project by Trangie Research Centre to establish the role of performance recording in a breeding program. The trials, to evaluate selection for growth rate on herd profitability which produced the Lowline breed began in 1974.

One herd selected for high yearling growth rates (High Line), and another selected for low yearling growth rates (Low Line), with a randomly selected control group. 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 1974, the Low Line herd remained closed.

The protein conversion performance of the High Line and Low Line animals was monitored on an individual basis. Their efficiency as protein converters were much the same.

After years of selective breeding, the Low Line herd stabilized at about 30 percent smaller than the High Line cattle. Through no plan of the Trangie Research Centre the Lowline had become a new breed of cattle, a breed which had the desirable characteristics of the Angus breed. The Australian Lowline Cattle Association was formed in 1993 with the dispersal sale of the Trangie Lowline cattle.

Lowlines 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.

Lowlines were first imported into the United States in 1996 and the American Lowline Registry, ALR was formed in 1997. There are over 1,500 registered full blood Lowlines and over 2,400 registered percentage Lowlines in the ALR herdbooks. The breed continues to grow rapidly in popularity.

Dianna, a 7 year old cow weighing 778 lb and 43 inch at the hip is
a half sister to the Sharidon Farms herdsire, SCR Dominator.

It seemed that supermarket beef just did not taste as good as that raised on the farm, it was either tough, dry and rather tasteless or too fatty.

It wasn't long before we quickly found ourselves supplying beef to family and friends and friends of friends who all wanted the same quality beef for themselves but who did not have the opportunity or desire to raise their own.

As demand continued to increase for our quality, pasture raised and grass-finished beef we began looking for ways to maximize the potential of our small grass farm without risk of overstocking or compromising our management strategy.

The Lowline breed has proven to be our breed of choice to help us meet our small farm objectives. Lowlines provide the perfect size side of beef for smaller families.

The benefits of grass-fed beef:

»	Less total fat and calories. Grain is used to speed growth and add bulk in commercial cattle, so fatter animals
»	More Omega 3 fatty acid. Omega 3 orginates in the green leaves of plants and algae
»	Less Omega 6. Grain is high in omega 6
»	Decreased risk of E coli. Grain makes a cow's digestive tract acidic with promotes the growth of E.coli
»	More CLA. Conjugated linoleic acid, a potent cancer fighter

It's important to remember that grass-fed is not the same as organic. Natural food stores often sell organic beef and dairy products that are hormone- and antibiotic- free. While these products come from animals who most likely were fed less grain than the industry norm, they typically still spent their last months (or in the case of dairy cows virtually their whole lives) in feedlots where they were fed grain. Even when the grain is raised organically, feeding large amounts of grain to a ruminant animal compromises the nutritional value of the resulting meat or dairy products and exacts an added toll on the environment.Our cattle are out on pasture year round.

We do not use any type of implants growth hormones or antibiotic supplements. Calves are left with their dams until they are 8-10 months old. They are allowed to mature naturally until their body frame is mature putting down natural marbling rather than packing on the fat with a forced grain diet. This takes time and space. It is not as cost effective as what commercial producers can provide, but it is the best and healthiest beef.