The stud is now based at "Fletcher's Awl" in Central Queensland. "Fletcher's Awl" is a 11,374 hectare property which consists of iron-bark and Bloodwood ranges running onto open black soil plains. It is in a low rainfall belt - one year there may be up to 25 inches of rain, but more commonly it runs in the 10-15 inch bracket. Droughtmaster cattle excel in this type of country as they have the survivability and adaptability to withstand the good times as well as the bad.
Strathfield Droughtmasters is a moderate sized stud with just over 200 registered females. We endeavour to breed quality as opposed to quantity. Our results are true testament to the quality of our cattle with Strathfield setting breed average records and topping vendor averages in the sale ring at multi-vendor sales on a regular basis.
We don't select for one particular trait - instead we select cattle with a broad range of desirable traits within the Droughtmaster breed. Strathfield places particular emphasis on selecting cattle with a good temperament, confirmation, fertility, weight gain, mothering and survivability. These cattle are bred in mountainous country where watering points are sparse, therefore they must possess good walking and foraging abilities which gives rise to the stud motto of "survivors when the going gets tough".
Over the years, Strathfield has introduced fresh blood from such well-known herds as Redskin, Redwing, Mungalla, Wingfield, Greenacres, Billabong, Garthowen, Glen Houghton, Huntly and Kenlogan. This combination of introduced genetics into our solid female base has helped the Strathfield stud prefix to figure prominently in the pedigrees being chosen by both stud and commercial breeders.
Strathfield Droughtmasters continues to remain at the forefront of the stud industry. At the 2001 National Droughtmaster Sale in Rockhampton, the stud presented 4 of it's top sires for the 2001 season and walked away with the Australian record breed average of $15,625. We again re-set this average in 2004 with 6 of our best averaging $21,833 before we smashed it again in 2005, setting a new breed average of $52,000 for 3 registered bulls.
