A Lifetime of Experience

Graham and Sandra Jordan, along with son Wade and daughter-in-law Bec, run 1,000 irrigated acres in Nemingha, around 10 kilometres north of Tamworth, New South Wales.

The rich alluvial soils were once ‘home’ to the family dairy farm, which partly explains why Graham and his family are so ‘one-eyed’ about quality females.

“We’ve been farming all our lives. We started out in the dairy industry but moved into lucerne farming in the late 1980s. We really missed having cattle around, so after several years experimenting with other cattle breeds we bought our first Red Angus and haven’t looked back,” he said.

Based in Tamworth, the Jordans’ market sale area extends locally through to Queensland, Central West and Coastal New South Wales.

“A lot of the cattle we see at the local markets are Brahman, Droughtmaster or Santa Gertrudis,” Graham said. “We wanted to breed cattle that complement these breeds, and the Red Angus tick a lot of boxes. They get rid of the extra sheath that you find on the Santas and Droughties, but retain the red colour. The cross softens the cattle up generally and also introduces the poll gene. Red Angus are polled with incredible maternal instincts and are much quieter than black cattle. We have found them to marble very well and are generally a much softer animal.”

Show-Stopping Cattle

The Jordans have spent many years showing sires and females across New South Wales, regularly preparing stud cattle for Guyra, Walcha and Tamworth Agricultural Shows. The Jordans also exhibit annually at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, National Red Angus Show and Sale in Dubbo and the Brisbane Royal Show.

“We enjoy preparing cattle for the show ring,” Graham said. “It’s also nice when the hard work is rewarded with a sash or two from a national or international judge that agrees that what you are breeding is worth breeding from. While broad ribbons are a bonus, breeding for results is what really drives us.”