History of the Australian Lowline breed
Australian Lowlines were developed from herd of 100% Registered Aberdeen Angus at Trangie in NSW Australia. Seed stock were purchased from Scotland, Canada, America and selected Australian Studs to form the foundation of the herd. The Aberdeen Angus breed has its origins in eastern Scotland, in the counties of Aberdeen and Angus, where it was in turn developed from the native black hornless cattle.
In 1963 the Australian Meat Research Committee asked the Trangie Research Centre to conduct a project aimed at establishing the role of performance recording in the breeding program of a herd. Equal emphasis was given to weight gain and to visual conformation score in the selection of replacement bulls and heifers. The project continued until 1970, pioneering performance testing in Australia, and demonstrating successfully the usefulness of measuring performance in a stud herd.
Origin of the cattle
The trials which produced the Lowline breed began in 1974, with funding from the Meat Research Corporation, to evaluate selection for growth rate on herd profitability.
Herd Trails
The Trangie staff chose one herd selected for high yearling growth rates and another selected for low yearling growth rates, with a randomly selected control group. They called the herds High Line, Low Line and Control Line. Satellite herds were established at Glen Innes in the northern tablelands of NSW and at Hamilton in the Western Districts of Victoria to enable climate to be taken into account.
History of the Trangie Herd
The Trangie Research Station began building its Aberdeen Angus herd in 1929 with foundation stock from the Glencarnock Stud in Canada. This included Blackcap Revolution, a top sire and son of the famous Earl Marshall, considered one of the best Aberdeen Angus bulls in the world at the time. Two of his sons, Glencarnock Revolution and Brave Edward, along with a cow, calf, and 17 heifers, were purchased for Trangie. Additional imports from Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.These acquisitions helped make Trangie a leading government-owned stud, contributing significantly to the Australian Aberdeen Angus breed.
Herd Selection Process
From 1971 and 1973 trials at Trangie were conducted using objective measurement and appraisal by experienced stud breeders. All three groups were comparatively evaluated for weight gain, feed intake, reproductive performance, milk production, carcass yield and quality, and structural soundness. After 19 years of this programme, the Lowline had established at approximately 60% of the size of the larger Angus but had shown such efficiency as a grass converter
The original Lowline herd, consisting of 85 cows, was closed to outside genetics. The herd remained closed until the end of the trial, with replacements sourced internally. In 1992, interested cattlemen purchased some Low Line cattle, forming the Australian Lowline Cattle Association, and a complete dispersal sale followed in 1993.
