Surgeon's prescription for beef success: a three-year herd strategy in play

Brisbane maxillofacial surgeon Dr Anthony Crombie has transitioned his Brisbane Valley beef enterprise to Santa cattle.

It has been a three-year transition to a Santa Gertrudis herd for Brisbane maxillofacial surgeon Dr Anthony Crombie on his Brisbane Valley beef enterprise. Spearheaded by his property's manager, Russell Gray, Dr Crombie has set a goal to achieve a pure Santa Gertrudis herd and produce market-suitable progeny for the feeder steer trade. Mr Gray said it made sense to convert Dr Crombie's commercial herd to Santa Gertrudis when he took over the reins three years ago. "There was a very mixed herd of all breeds, but the Santas suit the environment, and provide that tick resistance that other breeds don't," he said. Currently running 220 Santa Gertrudis/Droughtmaster females on the 776-hectare property, Court Le Roi, about 20km west of Kilcoy, Dr Crombie also agists a further 236ha of neighbouring country. Born and bred in the city, Dr Crombie said he purchased the property in 2017 after spending time on his uncle's cattle property at Imbil when he was younger. "We were going to buy the ...