FOR more than a decade, Bell-based stud Graneta has been a feature of the Limousin breed on the state's show, carcase competition and stud sale circuits
However, after first offering Limousin bulls at its on-property sale in 2015, the Gaffney family has opted to disperse the Limousin side of its stud in order to give its burgeoning Angus herd more focus.
In wrapping up his time with the Limousin breed, Graneta stud principal Jon Gaffney was eager to ensure the next generation of Limousin breeders could benefit from his operation's years of breeding.
The ideal way for him to pass the torch was to sell the stud's Limousin cows to the Ellangowan-based Passmore family of Benjarra Limousin stud and Adam Williamson, A.T Limousin stud.
"Between the two of them, they have purchased most of our cows to allow their studs to continue growing," Mr Gaffney said.
"Many years ago when my wife and I got the Limousin youth camp up and running again, for the first time in about 10 years or so, these guys, who were in their early teens at the time, were some of the first members.
"From there, we kept in contact and whenever we've had the chance we've done what we can to help them along.
"To have these guys purchase our cows is really special and I can't wait to see how they take their respective herds forward."
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Also benefitting from Graneta's change in direction was the Evans family of Jen-Daview Limousin stud, Kingaroy, which also took the chance to snap up some of the Gaffney family's Limousin females.
"Brent and Corey Evans bought the entire run of the S heifers to help build the numbers in their stud as well for the future," Mr Gaffney said.
"Those two also went through the junior program and have both been in the Limousin game for 10 or more years.
"It's really pleasing because they have been involved in the industry for quite a while now and have put in a lot of hard work, so for us to be able to give them a bit of a hand is pretty special.
"From our perspective, it is really pleasing to see that Greneta genetics will go on with these young stud principals."
Mr Gaffney said he had plenty of fond memories of his time breeding Limousins, but it was time for his operation to change its direction towards the Angus breed.
"Our Angus herd has come on in leaps and bounds, which has lead us to disperse the Limousin herd and give the Angus all of our focus," he said.
"We're really looking to build our Angus numbers up for next year's sale, so we won't be gone for good, we just won't be doing Limousins anymore.
Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
