History of Squaremeaters, designed for todays challenges

#References for this article include:

Small Farms magazine May 2008 + July 2008
Squaremeater breeders Peter Brown and Peter Horne
MLA publication feedback August 2008
Murray Grey and Squaremeater Association website homepage.

#Parts of this article have been included in a submission for a “Caring for Our Country” Open Grant.

The Square Meater cattle are developing iconic status as they are derived from the first truly Australian cattle breed the Murray Greys who originated in the upper Murray Valley on the NSW/Vic border. The Murray Grey was developed by Australians for Australian conditions. The first grey calves were born at the Sutherland family's Thologolong property in the early years of the 20th Century. The first Murray Greys were bred by chance: it is said luck launched the Murray Grey breed. The luck that two determined women were on hand at the right time and right place ensured its survival. The Sutherland women, Ena and her daughter -in-law Helen recognised the potential of the grey cattle that were the result of the mating of the house cow, a roan Shorthorn with a different Angus bull each year. The first calf was born in 1905 and was initially an embarrassment,. In Mr Sutherland's opinion they were a liabilty, and if it had not been for the wishes of his wife the female greys would have ended up on the plate along with their brothers! It soon became apparent however, that these odd cattle grew quickly, were superior converters of feed and possessed carcass merit. Local cattlemen were attracted by the Grey's size and appearance and began developing the breed.

By the early 1960's several breeders were successfully breeding commercial Murray Greys and the Murray Grey Beef Cattle Society was formed to register the cattle and to administer the breed.

The advent of the Society was the signal for the growth and development of the breed which is unparalleled in Australia, and perhaps the world in the 20th century.

Varying in colour from dark grey to a silver, the Greys are natural polls and are noted for their docile temperament. From their Angus ancestors, they inherited dark skin pigmentation and are not susceptible to skin or eye problems in severe climates. They have proved adaptable to most climatic conditions.

Over the past three hundred years man has been actively seeking to alter the characteristics of cattle to suit the requirements of the present time. Some examples of this genetic selection has been to breed-out unnecessary traits such as horns, or to breed-in desirable traits such as tick resistance.

In the early 1990's well-known Sydney cattle breeder, Rick Pisaturo, looked at the status of the beef cattle industry and determined that a market existed for a specific type of beef animal. The direction that the beef cattle industry had taken during the 80's in producing bigger animals had come at a cost of the ability of animals to mature at an early age. The challenge was to breed a fast growing, early maturing animal with good muscling. The reputation of the original Murray Grey's meant that they were ideally suited as the base stock. By careful selection of breeding females and suitable older styled Murray Grey sires combined with careful genetic selection for the targeted traits resulted in the first Square Meater calves being born at Mandalong Stud in 1994.

A desirable side effect from the early maturing Square Meaters is that their overall size was slightly smaller than their Murray Grey ancestors. This smallness is reflected in shortness of leg length not in a general miniaturisation of the animal. Square Meaters are felt by many to be of a type that represents the "original" Murray Grey, prior to the changes imposed upon the breed by the influences of the export market. The demanding overseas markets such as Japan and Korea have identified Murray Greys as a preferred breed, both for live imports and as carcases, because of the breed's economical performance in feedlots. Square Meaters on the other hand have been developed to fulfil the needs of the demanding domestic market.

Details are on our website www.silvergully.com.au.