Braidwood family stayed with Herefords

The couple are semi-retired after a lifetime on the family farm south of Araluen, but they still wanted to have some connection with the cattle industry.

"Our cows have a soft temperament, but it is how you treat them from the start," Mr Griggs said.

"I look for those cows with a kind eye and calm nature."

Mr Griggs credits his parents Kevin and Dorothy for his knowledge of cattle, but especially his mother.

"I learnt a lot from my parents and especially Mum, how she looked at the stock and quietly handled them when I was working with her in the yards and in the paddocks," he said.

"It was not something you can learn out of books, you have to work alongside people to understand how to treat your cattle with respect."

A run of years where drought, flood and fire made living on the isolated property at Araluen precarious, induced Mr and Mrs Griggs to move closer to Braidwood, where they could still maintain a small herd of around fifty Hereford cows.

The Griggs' family have been around the Braidwood district for a long time and Mr Griggs is the third generation of his family on the land.

His grandfather bought the first block of land after returning from the first world war where he had served in the Light Horse.

"He was buying land when he could to set his sons up," Mr Griggs said.

Hereford cattle have had a long association with the Braidwood district.

The breed being renowned for its foraging ability during the often harsh and cold winters of the southern tablelands, and many well-established herds were bred offering their calves during the annual blue riband sales.

"When I was growing up Mum and Dad always had Herefords," Mr Griggs said.

"They bought a lot of bulls from Kirraweena when the stud was at Dalton and bred by the late Fred Bush.

"And when I was a kid, I used to go with Mum and Dad to the bull sales, so I have had an association with the Bush family for more than fifty years."

That connection is maintained through the purchase of the top pen of heifers offered at their annual bull sale by Geoff and Heather Bush, Kirraweena Glenholme, Cootamundra.

"They are the traditional Hereford type and they suit here," Mr Griggs said.

"We have stayed with the Kirraweena stud because Geoff and Heather have kept breeding the moderate well balanced bulls and females using their hands and eyes and their long experience of breeding and showing cattle.

"Some Hereford breeders went to the American type but they were all legs and with tiny hips and they didn't suit our country."

Mr Griggs said he is pleased to see the Hereford breed is again attracting attention from beef producers for their many virtues.

"I can see there are a lot more people going back into the Herefords," he said.

"And the butchers have turned around too - they want the meat because their customers are looking for the quality of grass-fed meat."

It is obvious that the Hereford breed has declined in numbers during the past couple of decades in the Braidwood district, so why have Dennis and Deniece Griggs stayed with the breed?

"Probably because the Hereford cows when joined to apricot Limousin bulls are one of the best crosses out of Herefords," Mr Griggs said.

"And that is why I have stuck with them - they bring good money.

"The Herefords have a reputation for being good foragers, especially in our country and they are tougher in droughts."

Mr Griggs has bred his own Limousin bulls, using semen from renowned studs and artificially inseminating his selected stud Limousin cows.

"I select pure French bulls which are apricot colour," he said.

"The progeny are sold as vealers at the market in Moss Vale where they have definitely been bringing a good price, because the butchers love them.

"When we sell our vealers at the sale, Ben Hindmarsh (Jim Hindmarsh and Co, Moss Vale) gets the buyers from Sydney, he tells them the Griggs' cattle are coming and the butchers get them every year."

Mr Griggs aims at turning off the vealers at 375kg to 400kg live weight but it always depends upon the season, and they are sold straight off their mothers at nine to ten months.

Mr and Mrs Griggs will join 53 Hereford females this year, which have been purchased at the various Kirraweena sales.

When selecting his bulls, Mr Griggs relies on his experience and knowledge of the best features of the animal to produce the ideal carcase.

"I look for the shape, the length and the muscle and they've got to be square," he said.

"They throw the calves which are nice and square and that's where they carry the meat.

"I also like soft skin and with the quiet temperament, it shows in the quality of the meat.

"I don't take any notice of the figures, I take a lot of notice of what my eye is telling me.

"I have actually kept a couple of the Limousin cross heifers to see what they were like and they are really good milkers but I am aiming at having straight Herefords as the dams."