ABOUT SOUTHCOTE SHORTHORNS
Stud Established
Stud Purchased
IN SHORT
Southcote Shorthorns is located at “Rambrah” Walcha, on the productive Tablelands in Northern NSW, approximately 1100m above sea level.
Southcote was originally established in 1972 by John Roche on the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia. The stud was relocated to Walcha in early 2017 under the new stewardship of Samuel and Jodie Martin.
The Stud is comprised of around 180 breeding females and sells between 30-40 performance recorded bulls each year.
Southcote also runs extensive commercial program where over 300 females are joined each year. In conjunction with this our satellite programs allows us to join over 400 heifers via AI each year to progeny test our elite sires.
Southcote Shorthorns aims to produce cattle which perform successfully in a range of environments, with a focus on producing higher quality product for the consumer. We achieve this through:
- performance recording (birth weighing, scanning and regular weights);
- temperament scoring;
- strong focus on marbling;
- fertility; and
- continual identification of new influential sires globally.
SOUTHCOTE
John Roche established the Southcote Shorthorn herd 45 years ago. From 1972 he was a familiar face at the Naracoorte and Dubbo sales until he was slowed by ill health. During his career Mr Roche was President of the Australian Shorthorn Society, and from 2004 – 2006 he was the President of the World Shorthorn Society.
The Southcote herd has produced many influential sires over multiple generations including Voodoo, Yale and Hero just to name a few. Whilst the program has always focused on the functionality and commercial performance of the cattle produced, the stud did exhibit at the Adelaide Royal Show each year. The show ring has been a successful place for the Southcote herd with many breed champions being selected under multiple judges including success at Dubbo being rewarded with top price bull in 2004 for Southcote Expert.
KAWANA LEA
In 2012 Samuel and Jodie Martin started their adventure into breeding Shorthorns with the purchase of cows from Weebollabolla Shorthorns Moree. Through the acquisition of further females from Yamburgan and Nagol Park Shorthorns the herd grew to around 40 head.
The Martin’s saw the Shorthorn breed as having a tremendous amount of potential to positively influence the future direction of the Australian beef herd. The selection of their foundation females was something that took a lot of time and consideration. They selected females that had some extra growth and capacity in conjunction with being able to maintain a high level of condition.
THE EVOLUTION
On the 25th of April 2017 Samuel & Jodie Martin loaded 211 head of cattle and moved the Southcote Shorthorn herd 1600km North from Port Elliot, South Australia to Walcha, NSW.
This exciting move stemmed from a discussion around purchasing a sire from Southcote to be used in the Kawana Lea program. After this initial discussion it took just 5 weeks to sign, seal and deliver the change of ownership, and secure the continuation of the Southcote Shorthorn brand under the stewardship of the Martin’s.