An Irish couple have recently returned from Queensland, Australia, where they spent a season working on 6,000ha cattle farm with 'JK Cattle Co'.

Agriland recently caught up with Cian Maguire from Co. Cavan and Emer Marsh from Co. Kildare to hear some of their experiences from their time working at the farm.

JK Cattle Co is owned and operated by Justin and Kate Boshammer. The farm is based in Condamine, Queensland, Australia.

The farm owners met through their shared interest in Angus cattle and have been developing their breeding herd for 20 years now.

Since 2012, they have been operating independently and their herd has grown to 780 breeding cows farmed on 6,000ha today.

Cian explained that this would be deemed a very extensive stocking rate from an Irish perspective but said that there is a much reduced grass-growing capacity there than would be normal on most Irish land.

The farm is spilt across four properties in the Western Downs region of Queensland, approximately 350km west of Brisbane.

The area is considered an extremely productive agricultural region, suited to both cereal farming and grazing cattle, giving rise to a high concentration of cattle feedlots in the area. 

JK Cattle Co's pedigree suckler herd consists of approximately 400 Angus cows, 200 Brangus cows, and 120 Wagyu cows.

What are Brangus?

Cian explained that Brangus cattle are a cross between Angus and Brahman breeds, producing cattle that posses the typical Angus traits along with the desirable resilience traits of the Brahman breed.

This makes them better suited to the often harsh Australian grazing conditions of prolonged high temperatures, drought, parasite presence, and long walking distances.

Justin, the farm owner, currently serves as president of the Australian Brangus Cattle Association.

In more recent years, Justin and Kate have started breeding Wagyu cattle.

The Wagyu breed is becoming more widely known in Ireland also, and is renowned for its marbling quality.

"Market and feedlot demand for Wagyu genetics has been on the rise in Australia," Cian said.

Weather conditions

"Cattle stay on pasture year-round in most of Australia," he explained.

He said that feed availability is highly dependant on rainfall.

"Unlike Ireland where excessive rainfall is all too often an issue, several months without rain is nothing out of the ordinary in Queensland."

"Despite that, the region recently suffered terrible flooding as when rainfall does occur, it often arrives in deluges and can cause severe damage and loss of livestock.

"2025 was very favourable weather-wise for the region, with rain events spaced out nicely over the summer and autumn, and a very late onset of cold weather keeping forage growing throughout the season."

Grassland management

The Cavan man explained that the grass species on the farm are suited to a tropical environment and have much better drought resistance to Irish grass species.

However, this makes the grass highly susceptible to cold weather and since the first ground frost is generally in late May, grass growth slows significantly.

Several fields are left fallow over the summer and are planted with multi-species grazing mixes in summer and autumn to provide high-quality forage feed for growing cattle over the winter months. 

Barbed wire fences feature much more prominently than in Ireland, and electric fences are typically powered by solar energisers.

Water pumps are also primarily solar powered and rainwater gathers in natural and man-made lagoons, where it is then pumped to holding tanks that supply water troughs.

Even in houses, all water for drinking, cleaning and cooking is rainwater harvested from the roofs of buildings and diverted into tanks.

Cattle handling

A high level of planning and investment goes into designing and building cattle handling facilities.

With cattle typically grouped in herds of approximately 250, but sometimes exceeding 500, appropriate handling facilities are essential to allow for good cow flow, minimising stress and ensuring worker safety.

Cattle are first walked into a large collecting yard or “cooler”.

Smaller groups of cattle are then taken from the main herd and they proceed through a series of pens, each smaller than the last, towards a “pound”, a round sorting pen that drafts off into several pens, towards the loading ramp or up the race towards the crush.

All handling units feature an 'immobiliser' crush that can be adjusted to suit cattle of any weight, allowing for 360° safe access to the animal through a range of doors and windows.

JK Cattle Co

Partners Justin and Kate both work fulltime in JK Cattle Co.

Their staff, Bruce and Jess, primarily looked after one of the other properties which entails approximately 7,000ac.

Lydia, who also works on the farm, is based on another of the properties which encompasses approximately 3,500ac.

"With a very broad skillset, staff can move around as needed," Cian said.

Cian explained that his work was primarily based on the two home properties (4,000 and 1,000ac), but he travelled around the other properties as required. 

Commercially relevant genetics

One of JK’s core values is to supply commercially relevant genetics that can perform in a commercial enterprise.

To achieve this, they run the pedigree herd alongside the commercial suckler herd so all cattle get exposure to the same environment and management practices.

In more recent years, the pedigree herd has grown as they have invested more in genetics and the commercial herd has reduced in numbers to accommodate this.

The commercial herd primarily produced F1 Angus/Brangus x Wagyu calves that are reared on farm and sold to local feedlots at 380kg. 

Heifers are synchronised and artificially inseminated to calve down at two-years-old. All cows and heifers calve unassisted and all calves are tagged and weighed at birth. 

JK Cattle Co.’s annual bull sale took place on Monday, August 4, where 80 bulls went under the hammer.

This was their fourth annual on-farm bull sale and was the biggest sale they have had to date, with bull prices reaching up to AUD$24,000.

Regenerative farming

Cian explained that regenerative farming practices are used on the farm to a great extent.

Aside from the fields that are planted with mixed species forage crops, the grassland pasture receives very low levels of input in comparison to grassland swards in Ireland.

Multiple grass, legume, herb and shrub species grow throughout the pasture, providing the cattle with a range of forage options.

In times of drought or low grass growth rates such as in winter, these other species provide a source of nutrition for cattle, as well as support a healthy soil ecosystem.

The farm operates very closely with nature as is apparent from the range and abundance of flora and fauna across the farm. The presence of vast numbers of kangaroos however, increase the workload required to maintain secure fences.

The summer brings temperatures in excess of 40°C. Cattle seek out shade during the high daytime temperatures and therefore trees play an important role in providing shade.

The temperatures present a challenge when moving cattle, with early morning and late afternoon being a more suitable time to move cattle.

Dogs and horses play a vital role in mustering cattle, particularly in challenging areas with dense trees or wet areas.

The dogs are extremely effective in moving larger mobs, particularly useful when working with younger, more flighty cattle.

The use of horses promotes a very positive response from cattle, allowing them to be managed in the field in a calm, controlled manner in comparison to using motorised bikes or buggies. 

Handling techniques

A huge emphasis and time investment goes into maintaining the correct handling techniques when working with livestock both in the yards and in the paddocks.

Weaners are “educated” through exposure to cattle dogs, and this fosters good behavioural habits and movement in response to pressure from dogs/humans from a young age, that is maintained throughout their lifetime.

When moving cattle from field to field, care is taken to ensure that cattle move in a low-stress manner at a steady pace and that they are left in a calm state of mind, content, grazing in their new paddock.

When handling cattle in the yards, a one-way system is implemented as far as is possible to train cattle into the correct movement patterns.

During every movement, no matter how insignificant, attention is paid to continually promoting good movement in livestock.

As a genetic supplier, docility is paramount and any animals displaying poor temperament are removed from the breeding herd immediately. 

Cattle ID

Cattle are tagged with a radio frequency identification (RFID) button tag that must remain in their ear for traceability to track movements. However, ear tags are applied at the farmer's discretion.

Legislation in Queensland requires cattle to be branded on their farm of origin.

Branding is typically carried out at weaning, when the calves are 6-7 months-of-age.

Bull calves that are destined for the feedlot are also castrated at the same time, involving removing the testicles from the scrotum via two small incisions. 

Meat quality

Meat quality is something that JK Cattle Co. strive to promote, through their genetic improvement and through their management.

Care is taken when loading animals to ensure that undue stress is not experienced to the detriment of meat quality.

The incorporation of Wagyu genetics has been a big step in improving meat quality, but it has also been the focus of the Angus and Brangus genetic improvement over the years too. 

Similar to Ireland, last year seen an upward rally in cattle prices in Australia.

At the end of 2023, Australian cattle prices had a very steep decline. From then to 2025, there has been a steady incline.

The past 12 months from August 2025 have seen fat cow prices at been $2.8-$3/kg liveweight.

450kg feeder steers were at around $3.60-$3.80 targeting 100-day grainfed.

Mid-fed 150-day 450kg Angus steers were at $4.20-$4.40. Grassfed 650kg steers were at $6-$7/kg carcass-weight.

Some of the key challenges for the sector in Australia is securing skilled motivated labour (which JK thankfully has no issue with) and rainfall variability.

Other challenges since 2023 have been rising costs of doing business and the purchase price of land relative to farm gate returns.