Fusion 2008 Queensland Country Life - July 2008
'TOM Acton, Willpeena, knew he was on to a good thing when he bought his first Santa Gertrudis bulls from Cumberland Stud, Longreach, to use over his Angus and Hereford cows back in 1966.

“They produced a terrific result intop-quality steers,” said his son Graeme Acton, now a principal of the multi-property cattle and beef marketing enterprise Acton Land and Cattle Co.

One of the major suppliers of Santa stud and herd bulls for the Actons’ operation is the Yarrawonga, Waco stud business of Alastair and Louise Bassingthwaighte and family at Wallumbilla. “We like the Yarrawonga, Waco bulls for their scale and bone,” Graeme said. “They are good doing cattle, fertile and suitable for a wide range of climatic conditions even when things get tough.”

Graeme Acton, a principal of Acton Land and Cattle Co, likes to maintain hands-on management of the company’s extensive cattle herds, including these high-quality Santa Gertrudis. Frame and good bone are essentials sought in the Acton Santa cattle to cope with a wide range of production environments.
>> read entire article

Queensland Country Life - May 2008
The gift that keeps on giving to the Hills.

Yarrawonga Waco genetics have been the cornerstone of the Hills’ Dirranbandi operation for a quarter of a century, as HELEN WALKER reports.

A GIFT of 100 Santa Gertrudis heifers some 25 years ago firmly set the foundation for Dirranbandi beef producer, Ben Hill, to manage a quality commercial breeding herd.

According to Ben, it was not long after he left school that his parents John and Rose gave him these heifers, which were based on Yarrawonga Waco bloodlines, and he has not introduced a breeder to his base herd since.

The Hills run about 500 Santa Gertrudis breeders based purely on the Bassingthwaighte family’s Santa Gertrudis bloodlines.

And while the past seven years the seasons have been horrific, they have managed to keep their breeding herd in tact during such trying times.
>> read entire article