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Secure a golden ticket from Glenliam Farm dispersal

Glenliam Farm Beroleanne J65 will be offered as Lot 28 at the Glenliam Farm Dispersal on March 2 at Glen William.
Glenliam Farm Beroleanne J65 will be offered as Lot 28 at the Glenliam Farm Dispersal on March 2 at Glen William.

This is advertiser content for Glenliam Farm.

A GENUINE opportunity for Murray Grey breeders to snap up some of the best genetics in the world will be on offer when Glenliam Farm Murray Greys disperse their herd on March 2. 

An end of an era for Ken and Maureen Cowley who established the herd on their 89 hectare property at Glen William in the lower Hunter Valley in 1993, the stud will offer 120 lots including females, bulls, embryos and semen packages, that culminates 25 years of breeding.

Since its inception the stud has been managed by Bryce Whale, and his wife Diane, who helped set up the stud and have since developed it into what is now known as one of the elite studs within the Murray Grey breed. 

“Intially the stud was started to provide a source of quality Murray Grey bulls for Mr Cowley’s brothers herd of Greyman at Tamworth,” Mr Whale said. 

But it soon grew with the stud holding its inaugural on-property sale in 1997 at Spring Park, Wallabadah, a 5668ha property previously owned by the Cowleys. 

“We annually held bull sales there up until 2004 when the first on-property sale was held at Glenliam Farm, Glen William,” Mr Whale said. 

“However a lot of our western clients didn’t travel to the sale so we began marketing our bulls out of the paddock and at the national, and of late at the Top of the Range sale (Glen Innes)."

Mr Whale said the sale highlights over the years were the lifelong friendships formed and selling bulls to other studs when they were new on the scene. 

Foundation females and original bloodlines were sourced from Orcadia Park, Ondiong, Glengarret, and Mt View studs. 

Over the last 25 years, the stud’s breeding objectives has changed from breeding big animals to scaling them back down to moderate maturing cattle, that do well in their environment. 

At peak of production the stud offered 25 bulls annually and ran 150 females. This was later cut back to 120 breeders, including about 70 registered cows. 

Since 1996 they have been showing at the Sydney Royal Show, with their biggest team of 14 head being exhibited at the 2005 Murray Grey feature show where Glenliam Farm Antionette Q56 was judged supreme exhibit of 150 breed entries. 

That same year, this Sydney supreme winner was one of two females sold by the stud for $12,000 at the Murray Grey National Show and Sale, Wodonga, Victoria, an event Glenliam Farm has been annual supporters of since 2002. 

In 2018, they offered 18 head including Glenliam Farm Linda D37 who was named supreme exhibit of the show and Glenliam Farm Antoinette H46 selling for $13,000. 

Thomas Foods International winning team of three at the 2016 Adelaide Royal Show were all exhibited by Glenliam Farm Murray Greys. Handlers (L-R) Annika Whale, Nicole Muller and Bryce Whale.
Thomas Foods International winning team of three at the 2016 Adelaide Royal Show were all exhibited by Glenliam Farm Murray Greys. Handlers (L-R) Annika Whale, Nicole Muller and Bryce Whale.

Their success has not only been limited to the stud show ring, with accolades in steer competitions growing each year leading to personal success and satisfaction for Mr Whale. 

“At the 2016 Adelaide Royal we won grand champion steer and all the steers in the winning Thomas Foods Group team of three were ours,” he said. 

“We have also had steers in winning teams at Brisbane Royal (McDonald Shield) and Sydney Royal (Stan Hill Memorial Trophy).” 

Mr Whale, who stood down as the event chairman of the National Show and Sale committee in 2018 following six years in the position, said despite dispersing the stud will continue to support the national with bulls going forward. 

The dispersal arises as part of the Cowley family’s succession plan, however the properties are not being sold. 

“What we are putting up is the elite of the herd,” Mr Whale said. “These animals can go out and enhance most herds. It is a genuine opportunity for people to get their hands on cattle they normally wouldn’t get the chance to.”

The Glenliam Farm Dispersal Sale will be held at Glenliam Farm, Glen William, on Saturday March 2 at 1pm. It will be interfaced online through AuctionsPlus. 

Please contact stud manager Bryce Whale (0427 324 078) or Colin Say and Co agent Shad Bailey (0458 322 283) for more information. 

This is advertiser content for Glenliam Farm.