Rockhampton Beef Expo - Cattle lovers Heaven, it's on again May 4-9, 2009.

Find out more at the Beef Australia website

Some thoughts from Lee Labrie

Have you ever thought how wonderful it would be to go to a show where there were no showbags and dolls on sticks or fair ground rides? Where everyone was as interested in cows and all things related to cows as you are? Well search no more. You need to come to the Beef EXPO at Rockhampton. It is held every three years and will be your inspiration for years to come. There are trade displays from every company even remotely associated with cattle.

On a rather frivolous note, my most prized purchases have been little black cow shaped soaps that I only use when we have guests and a bull made from horse shoe nails. Information on all aspects of cattle production and marketing is everywhere to be seen. All the Government departments are represented and any question you have ever had can be answered.

Australian Lowlines at Rockhampton 2006 paraded by Robert Labrie (left)Julie Pocock (in red shirt) and an unknown student from Pittsworth State High School.

There are stud cattle on display and prime cattle are judged at the nearby state of the art Gracemere saleyards. Next year there will be a National Carcase competition which will allow entries to be slaughtered and judged close to home and all the results will be tallied to give the first truly National competition.

Lowlines have been represented since 1997 and when we went first in 2000, people came to talk to us about the little black cattle they had seen three years previously. Rockhampton is the hub of the cattle industry in Queensland and indeed in Australia, but what we Lowline breeders have to remember is that this is really Brahman country.

Some of the most respected names in the Beef industry in Australia are based here and most are Brahman breeders. For this reason it is very gratifying to hear long time cattlemen walk away from the Lowline display
muttering things like "Beefy little b....s aren't they?"

As with all marketing opportunities, getting recognised and established in a new area with a new product is not easy or an overnight success. However, Lowlines are now steaming ahead at great speed and there are an ever increasing number of studs operating in Central and Northern Queensland. Lowline breeders in the Rockhampton area are to be commended for all their efforts, but it is the three yearly Beef Expo that started it all off. In 2009 ALCA will be helping to stage an information display and helpers are always needed and appreciated. Anyone wanting more information can contact Michelle Molloy of Timitch Hill Lowline stud.

Combined with the stud tours and seminars, the whole Rockhampton experience is one not to be missed. And don't forget the great steak restaurants that are on the grounds.

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