Adding black appeal through new venture

Mr Cook has been the stud principal of Barana Simmentals, based in Coolah, NSW, since 1980.

Although his son Campbell went away to boarding school in Armidale, Mr Cook said he’d always had an interest in the cattle industry.

Now Campbell has finished school, Mr Cook said he wanted to give him a helping hand to start a stud, as he was about the same age when he started his.

One would assume a long-time Simmental breeder would buy his son Simmental cattle, but Mr Cook surprised everybody when he purchased Campbell some Angus cattle.

In the past, Mr Cook used to join his Simmental heifers to 8- to 12-month-old Angus bulls when the season was good.

When the season started to dry off though, he had to stop doing it as the young cattle weren’t growing out after  joining and calving.

With a better season this year, Mr Cook decided to go to the annual Kansas Angus bull sale at Boggabri, to  inspect the weaner bulls it had on sale.

Prior to the sale, Mr Cook went to the stud for an inspection and was instantly drawn to a line of females on offer.

On the way home, Mr Cook called his son and asked whether he’d be interested in starting an Angus stud, to which he replied most definitely.

At the sale the next day, Mr Cook bought five pregnancy-tested-in-calf (PTIC) cows and one young cow that had a calf at foot, which was sold to another bidder.

The calves from the PTIC cows are expected to drop early next year. 

Mr Cook said since he started his stud, the stud industry had changed significantly, mostly by becoming much more competitive.

“It’s much more about having the right genetics now,” he said. 

“It’s very competitive now, you need every advantage and tool you could use.”

With highly regarded genetics in the Angus breed, especially within the Kansas stud, Mr Cook thought it would be a good idea for Campbell to start his stud with the Angus breed.

It would also allow him to begin a business venture of his own, instead of carrying on from his father.

“We wanted to give him a head start in something that he could achieve himself,” he said.

The stud is still being set up, with most of the paperwork completed but not submitted.

They also haven’t come up with a name for the Angus stud, but Mr Cook said it could possibly branch off from the Barana name, so people in the cattle industry were instantly familiar with it.

Angus Society youth co-ordinator Alice Lodge said choosing the Angus breed for a commercial operation was wise, given market prices.

This is the same for people looking into the stud industry, especially for young people, who were supported by the breed society.

Miss Lodge said the society offered young people a range of benefits from international scholarships, awards and breed events that offer management and ambassador programs.

WITH a strong interest in cattle genetics from watching his dad Peter, Campbell Cook is excited for his future in the Angus stud industry.

Currently completing a trade away from home, Mr Cook said he had always planned to head back to the stud after reaching his qualifications.

He said he was “all for it” when his dad decided to purchase him a line of Angus stud cattle from renowned stud Kansas Angus earlier this year.

Mr Cook said he’d always been interested in cattle genetics, which is why he was extremely happy with his dad’s choice to buy him an Angus line of females.

“The genetics are what I’m interested in,” he said. 

The fact the Angus breed is so heavily concentrated on genetics makes the breed perfectly suited for Mr Cook, as well as their strong youth program.

“I’m pretty excited by it all,” he said.