Murray Grey Beef Cattle Society

16/06/2026

Upcoming Murray Grey Sales: July - September

There are some great opportunities coming up over the next few months to secure Murray Grey genetics, with registered stud cattle, commercial cattle and proven breeding opportunities on offer.

1. Top Of The Range Murray Greys
2. Wallawong Premium Beef
3. Waroona Murray Greys

Buyers are encouraged to mark these dates in their calendar and keep an eye out for further sale details as they become available.

10/06/2026

Front-page recognition for Murray Grey performance in commercial beef production!

Murray Grey genetics have been highlighted on the front page of Stock Journal, with Lochiel producer Nick Ottens and son Lachlan Ottens, of Everard Beef, featured for their direct-to-consumer beef brand built around calm-tempered, efficient Murray Grey cattle.

The Ottens family runs around 100 self-replacing breeders across Lochiel and Blyth, selecting Murray Grey bulls from the Ballyvaughan Murray Grey Stud for temperament, structure, muscle shape and their ability to produce quiet, practical cattle suited to both grazing and finishing systems.

The article highlights the family’s focus on cattle that are easy to handle, finish well, and deliver a quality eating experience. Lachlan Ottens noted that feedback on eating quality had been “overwhelmingly positive”.

The Ottens family also reported strong performance from their cattle in finishing paddocks, with one group of weaners gaining around 60kg in a month, and average gains of about 1.6kg per day after being rotationally grazed.

For the full story, read here: www.stockjournal.com.au

Credit: Article & Photo by Kiara Stacey, Stock Journal, featuring Everard Beef’s Lachlan and Nick Ottens, Lochiel, with their herd in finishing paddocks.

09/06/2026

📣 𝙈𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙮 𝙂𝙧𝙚𝙮 𝘽𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨 – 𝘿𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙈𝙞𝙨𝙨 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙊𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨! 🥩🏆

Here are a few major opportunities currently open:

🔹𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐂 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐟 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 – 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐟 𝐀𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟕
📅 Nominations are now open
📅 Competition period: 1 January 2026 – 31 January 2027
📅 Awards presented at Beef Australia, Rockhampton, 2–8 May 2027

With processors participating across every Australian state, this is Australia's largest and most comprehensive national carcase competition and a fantastic opportunity to compare your cattle against the best in the country.

🔹𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐟 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
📅 Entries open: 27 May 2026
📅 Entries close: 16 July 2026
📅 Judging: 26–27 September 2026

One of Australia's most respected carcase competitions, assessed using Meat Standards Australia grading and focused on rewarding excellence in both yield and eating quality.

🔹𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 & 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
📅 Entries currently open

An excellent opportunity to benchmark cattle through a commercial feedlot system and receive valuable performance and carcase data.

🔹 𝐑𝐍𝐀 𝐏𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞
📅 Entries currently open

A prestigious competition that follows cattle through feedlot performance, carcase assessment and eating quality evaluation.

🔹𝐑𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐟 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 📅 Entries are open now
📅 Royal Adelaide Show: 5–13 September 2026

The Royal Adelaide Show continues to offer valuable opportunities for beef producers to benchmark carcase performance and showcase commercial beef quality. Murray Grey cattle have traditionally performed strongly in both led steer and carcase competitions, making this a great option for breeders wanting independent feedback and industry exposure.

If you're breeding cattle with genuine commercial performance, carcase competitions are one of the best ways to benchmark your genetics, collect independent feedback, and showcase what Murray Greys can do from paddock to plate.

07/06/2026

For more than six decades, Murray Greys have been recognised for their temperament, doing ability, carcase quality and commercial relevance. From stud programs to commercial herds, and from Australian showrings to international breeding operations, Murray Grey genetics continue to stand out for all the right reasons.

Built on proven performance and backed by generations of passionate breeders, Murray Greys remain a breed with history, purpose and a bright future.

📷Stock & Land's Phil Weymouth (1995) of Graeme Wesley with the Grand Champion Bull from Melbourne Royal Show, Orcadia Park Hyperno N127.
🖌️Ganado Design Services

02/06/2026

📏🐄 Birthweights & BREEDPLAN

If you're recording data for BREEDPLAN, one of the most valuable pieces of information you can collect is birthweight.

But not all birthweights are created equal!

✅ What to use:
• Actual birthweights should be taken as soon as practical after birth.
• Weights collected using scales (crate scales, hanging scales, platform scales, calf weigh systems, etc.).
• Measurements recorded consistently across your calf crop.
• Birthweights from all calves where possible, including stillborn calves.

❌ What not to use:
• Estimated weights. e.g. "He looked about 40kg" guesses.
• Weights taken days or weeks after birth and entered as birthweights.
• Different methods for different calves within the same contemporary group.
• Weigh tapes or girth tapes used to estimate birthweight.

🔬 Why not weigh tapes? Research has shown that weigh tapes and girth measurements can be highly unreliable for newborn calves. Factors such as calf shape, breed, muscling, gut fill, and how the tape is positioned can all influence the result. While they may provide a rough estimate, they do not offer the level of accuracy needed for genetic evaluation and should not be used as a substitute for an actual scale weight.

⏰ When should you weigh them? The closer to birth, the better. Ideally within the first 24 hours, before significant growth occurs.

🤔 Why does it matter? Birthweight is one of the key traits used in BREEDPLAN to help estimate:
• Calving Ease
• Birth Weight EBVs
• Genetic trends within your herd
• The performance of individual sires and cow families

Importantly, recording all calves gives BREEDPLAN the complete picture. Leaving out difficult births, heavy calves, or stillbirths can unintentionally bias your data. Including stillborn calves and their birthweights helps improve the accuracy of genetic evaluations, particularly for birth weight and calving ease traits.

Accurate birthweight records help improve the quality of your herd's genetic information, giving you and future buyers greater confidence in your EBVs.

Remember: A guessed or estimated weight is often worse than no weight at all. If you can't collect an accurate scale weight, it's better to leave the record out than introduce unreliable data into your herd's genetic evaluation.

Watch the video below for more information:

This video will outline the methods and considerations when recording birth weights for BREEDPLAN. Read the accompanying tip sheet here: https://breedplan.un...

02/06/2026

Thank you to all members who took the time to provide feedback and vote on the MGBCS uniform options.

It was a close call, and we appreciate the thoughtful input from members across the Society. After considering the results, members have voted to retain our existing uniform.

Uniform guidelines have been emailed to all members, providing clear direction around presentation, colours and expectations when representing the Society at shows and official events.

Thank you again for having your say and for continuing to support the Murray Grey Beef Cattle Society.

01/06/2026

$𝟏,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐌𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐲 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐟 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 - 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥

The Murray Grey Beef Cattle Society is proud to sponsor the 2026 Inverell Feedlot Trial & Carcass Competition, offering a $1,000 prize to the highest scoring Murray Grey or Murray Grey Cross pen.

Now entering its third year, the Inverell Feedlot Trial provides producers with a unique opportunity to benchmark the performance of their cattle under commercial feedlot conditions, with comprehensive assessment from induction through to carcass grading.

Congratulations to last year's winners, Ondiong Murray Greys, whose outstanding pen of five purebred Murray Greys took out the championship, demonstrating the breed's ability to excel in a commercial feedlot environment.

📋 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲
✔ Cattle must be sired by a Murray Grey bull registered on the Murray Grey Beef Cattle Society Herd Book.
✔ Murray Grey and Murray Grey Cross cattle are eligible for entry in Category 3 (Crossbreed Steers) or Category 4 (Crossbreed Heifers).
✔ Standard competition terms and conditions apply.

The Inverell Feedlot Trial & Carcass Competition is open to pens of five head weighing 380–500kg and provides valuable data on feedlot performance, carcase merit and overall profitability.

Entries close Friday 12 June.

Good luck to all exhibitors—we look forward to seeing a strong representation of Murray Grey genetics in the 2026 trial!

30/05/2026

Murray Grey genetics are continuing to prove their value where it matters most — on the hook.

For Jimmy, Michelle and Halle Moir of Bonnie Vale Poll Herefords, the decision to introduce Murray Grey genetics over their Poll Hereford females has delivered outstanding results, highlighted by their success at Wingham Beef Week.

Their Murray Grey-sired Grey Baldies, by Onward Pilot of Onward Murray Greys, performed strongly across key commercial traits — temperament, doing ability, carcase quality and eating performance.

At Wingham, the Bonnie Vale team recorded the Highest Individual MSA Index, with a score of 68.57, and also claimed Highest MSA Index Pen of 5, averaging an impressive 66.88. For Jimmy, the consistency across the pen was the real highlight — proof that the result was not a one-off, but a reflection of the breeding program behind them.

Jimmy said the Murray Grey influence with Pilot has been a strong fit for their herd:

“𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥.”

He also highlighted the importance of temperament, not only for handling cattle safely, but for carcase outcomes and eating quality.

“𝘛𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘐𝘭𝘭-𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬.”

The results also backed up what Jimmy had seen in the paddock, with cattle that were quiet, easy doing, well finished and able to perform on the hook. Their Grey Baldie heifers are also being retained as replacements, showing the maternal value Murray Grey genetics are adding to the Bonnie Vale program.

For commercial producers looking for versatility, Jimmy believes Murray Greys have plenty to offer:

“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭.”

Congratulations to the Moir family, Bonnie Vale Poll Herefords, Onward Murray Greys, and all involved in a terrific result at Wingham Beef Week.

If you're considering a Murray Grey Bull, please email the office or send this page a message and we’ll help connect you with breeders and upcoming sales in your area to find your perfect match.

29/05/2026

🐮MURRAY GREY WEANERS WANTED! 🐮

Are you in South Australia and have Murray Grey cattle? Are you interested in being part of the MG Beef Co family? We are looking for steers or heifers to go on feed. Happy to take small numbers.

Send us a message or call Rhys 0429 399 136 for more information.

27/05/2026

Reminder to all members that the 2026 Female Inventory is due to the Murray Grey Beef Cattle Society by this Saturday, 30 May 2026.

Please contact the office if you have any questions relating to your 2026 inventory.