This Texas gal went down under to the beautiful southern state of Victoria in Australia. Besides the utterly beautiful scenery, excellent coffee available every where one looked, bird life that was captivating, and so much more . . . I also saw some very grand British White cows!
It was the occasion of Australia's annual Beef Week, and for the first time ever the British White breed was showcased on beautiful Shrublands Estate which is primarily a Black Angus stud, but with a keen interest in developing a top herd of British White cattle.
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| ET Heifer Calves at Shrublands |
Shrublands had a couple dozen British White calves on the ground for visitors to delight in. Much of the folk dropping by were there for the unusual opportunity to learn more about the British White, as for most, it was their first introduction to the breed.
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| ET Bull Calf at Shrublands, Sired by J.West's Elvis from J.West's Doc's Gal |
The British White calves are all the product of Embryo Transfer and the embryos were collected from several females from the herd of J.West Cattle Company, and variously sired by J.West's Elvis and J.West's El Presidente. Shrublands has a particularly promising young 5 month old bull calf sired by J.West's Elvis that draws everyone's eye and leaves one saying "Wow!"
Shrublands Estate is located alongside the beautiful Goulburn River in Thornton, Victoria. Being located in close proximity to Lake Eildon upstream, the Goulburn waters are incredibly pristine and icy cold. The Eildon Wier (dam) releases waters from the vastly deep man-made Lake Eildon this time of year, Australia's summer, for use in agricultural croplands that rely on the waters of the Goulburn for irrigation.
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| Goulburn River at Shrublands Estate |
The Goulburn is fully at its banks this time of year, but in the winter the water level of the Goulburn can be so low in this same area that cattle oftentimes stroll across to adjoining pastures on the other side for a visit!
This slideshow of my visit is a nice overall look at the Shrublands Estate in Thornton, Victoria.
