GLENLEA BEEF leader in CHAROLAIS Seedstock.
The Glenlea stud was founded 50 years ago in 1973
Glenlea Charolais
The Glenlea stud was founded 50 years ago in 1973 in Tasmania, by Robert and Georgina Binny, parents of current stud principal, Roderick Binny. Glenlea seedstock have had an influence right across Australia in the last 50 years, from North Qld to Western Australia. In 2010 Roderick Binny moved the stud to Northern NSW with a single B double load of Elite Glenlea Charolais females, painstakingly selected over the previous 40 years with generational knowledge what makes a cow herd Better and backed by data, into a commercially focused and highly adaptable Charolais cow herd to begin a new era and grow into the large seedstock business we now are and become GLENLEA BEEF.
Glenlea beef is now approaching 1000 Charolais cows in our program. Our future plans using our various business models is to grow our herd to the Largest CHAROLAIS seedstock producer in Australia. We are a growing business, actively seeking new clients across all of eastern Australia, with a dynamic team of committed individuals all working to a common vision and led by Roderick Binny. GLENLEA BEEF’s goal is to run 3000 purebred Charolais females within 5 years, rivalling the largest registered Charolais herds in the world, breeding High Quality bulls and females in very large numbers with Generationally Experienced, Practical Cattleman’s Selection, an extensive DATA backed program and SERVICE that is best practice in the industry, so at any time you can call the owner of the business to discuss what we can do for you, as we are at your SERVICE!
GLENLEA BEEF has a wide geographical footprint in 2022.
With properties just west of Coffs harbour near Coramba, over the range west of Dorrigo at Fernbrook, Guyra in New England, in the Hunter Valley near Scone and at Casino in Northern Rivers. These properties are a mixture of owned and leased properties that support our cow herd, backgrounding bulls and young females.
Additionally, we have a large JV program that we Joint Venture with our partners on their Charolais cow herd, prominently derived from a Glenlea Base and using Glenlea stud sires. This program allows us to produce large numbers of bulls, with our genetics and breeding objectives built in. Elite Glenlea sires are used to produce lines of consistent bulls that are sold into commercial herds throughout Queensland and NSW for cross breeding. Additionally with large numbers of females available to select that elite special couple of heifers for a small stud program right through to a larger line of females suitable for breeding herd bulls in northern Australia.
Our number 1 goal is always natural do-ability! The constitution to hold on in tough times and bounce back quickly in the good times, to raise a calf, get back in calf no matter the season. For bulls to have great libido and seek out females, to do the work! The Glenlea herd is the ONLY Charolais Stud Herd in Australia to have been selected and managed in three distinct geographical regions and environments in Australia. Tasmania, New England Northern NSW and Sub Tropical Far North Coast of NSW. The cow families that cannot adapt or sire lines that don’t meet this fundamental requirement are culled.
All the painstakingly collected performance data and detailed study of pedigrees leading to selection of the best of the best to produce stud progeny is useless if those herd improving genetics are not passed on by bulls and females in real world environments.
With that as a basis we select for high growth rates in a early to mid maturity body type, as much carcass and yield as we can, while still maintaining fat cover, sensible birthweights and above breed average calving ease, while still being able to have some of the highest performing maternal traits in the breed in Australia! With most northern herds retaining heifers we are acutely aware that heifer from our bulls will be retained in their 1000’s over time and its our selections for the critical physical traits that will contribute to their lifetime of production.
Much time is devoted to seeking out the bloodlines and physical types and then mating them to the correct types of females to breed bulls that have all the market traits of growth and carcass, while carrying those critical maternal traits to pass on to their daughters. We have achieved through selection and management practically full fertility in the herd in normal seasons resulting in 95% pregnancy rates in our females. Weaning is aimed to be done early 5 to 6 months; this year is the exception due to extremely wet conditions when many will be weaned later. Weaner are supplemented / or on crop in their first winter to be in good body condition at the start of spring and achieve working age weights at 16 to 20 months of age.
Our bull clients are located across our major bull selling regions in central and northern QLD our sales are located at Winton in July, Roma in September and Clermont in October. Along with paddock sales to our clients on the north coast of NSW. We believe in taking our bulls to our clients, that why we have Three production sales during the winter and Spring.
With large numbers of bulls and a very wide geographical area, target markets are from weaners to bullocks and our bulls have the diversity in growth and maturity pattern so we can match the bulls to individual client’s, environment, type of cows and target markets. The beauty of Charolais X progeny however is their market flexibility. Our breeding program avoids extremes and aims to put the biggest percentage of our bulls in the early to mid-maturity range, as thick and high yielding as any in the business, with good fat cover and Polled with many being (PP) Polled. Our focus on maternal traits of calving ease, fertility and milk is always carefully considered in our breeding selections.
As our client base grows, especially in northern and central Queensland the reputation of our cattle to be easy adapting to new environments, quiet, strong active bulls that can get the cows in calf and maintain themselves is really building our repeat buyers numbers. We are especially known for our RED FACTOR CHAROLAIS BULLS and we are focused of breeding up to 50% of our bulls with a Red coat colour. New clients try our bulls, turn them out and they not only survive, but thrive and get calves. The majority of our bulls are born and grown out on the sub-tropical north coast of NSW, in that challenging environment our bulls have to be good doers and this sets them up to adapt quickly and thrive the further north and west they go away from the coast. Consistently adapting more quickly than bulls from inland areas.
We have Four sales planned for 2022, three bull sales and one female sale.
22nd July at Winton, selling with Elders Winton, we will catalogue 45 bulls for this sale, all polled, several Red Factor and all specially selected for this sale. These will feature our leading rising 2-year-old autumn /early winter born sires, along with a selection of very well grown yearling bulls carrying the Fairfield Brand.
On the 14th September we hold our annual sale at Roma, with selling agents Elders, Watkins & Co and Ray White, we will present 75 bulls and this sale will feature our lead spring born rising 2-year-old bulls and a selection of very special 18 month old bulls carrying the Fairfield Brand.
October 14th will see our annual Clermont sale with Elders Clermont, with 40 bulls on offer, these will be the lead of our summer born bulls, 20-month-old and All polled.
AT all our sales our bulls will be sire verified with extensive data available, including EBV’s and carcass scans with all semen testing and health treatments completed.
October 28th will see us switch to focus to sell 100 females at Casino, Northern Rivers NSW. This sale has both stud and commercial focus and we expect various local agents and their vendors to present 200 to 300 commercial Charolais infused females to sell along side our performance recorded stud and commercial females, which will feature 60 PTIC registered Heifers, 20 ready to join heifers and 20 outstanding cows with calves at foot.
In 2021 we had Two female sales and 1 bull sale with another Two bull sales in conjunction with Fairfield Charolais, Glenlea has now purchased the Fairfield herd, and is now part of Glenlea Beef.
Glenlea has sold over $2,500,000 worth of Charolais seedstock in 2021, selling over 150 bulls both at Auction and privately and over 250 females, many of the later young heifers. In the show ring our highlight was at BEEF 2021 in Rockhampton winning Junior champion female, along with Reserve Junior Champion, reserve calf champion female and reserve senior champion bull, and was most successful exhibitor. Our high selling lot at our Dawn of the Decade sale in March 2021 was the highest priced Charolais female in Australia sold at Auction in 2021, Glenlea Isabella 14th (PP) R/F for $26,500.
