There will be a changing of the guard at Yulgilbar Pastoral Company with this week's announcement that overseer Brett Ellem and his wife Lucy will take over the role of manager from Rob and Lorraine Sinnamon after March next year.
The 14,000 hectare station with 24 kilometres of frontage on both sides of the Clarence River, is owned by the Myer family and has long been a corner stone of Santa Gertrudis stud production, being among the first to import cattle from King Ranch in Texas.
Cropping and pasture improvement programs operate on much of the property and have led to a lift in tested pregnancy rates from a 20 year average of 83 per cent to 90pc.
The Sinnamon family have been managers since 2002 and helped build the genetic legacy that is Yulgilbar Santa Gertrudis Stud.
Mr Sinnamon had previously managed properties at Harlin and Toogoolawah located in the Brisbane Valley. Along with managing a property at Taroom in central Queensland. He has also judged cattle at shows across Australia for many years. He was Young Rural Queenslander of the year in 1987.
He won the National Stud Beef Young Judges Competition in 1988, while Rob went on to become New South Wales Farmer of the year in 2007.
"Lorraine and I have been extremely privileged to have been the custodians of Yulgilbar Station and we're very much looking forward to continuing our association with the Myer family as we refine and develop the outstanding Yulgilbar genetics pool which is at the heart of the enterprise," said Mr Sinnamon.
The purchase of Warenda Sahara in 2007 for the then Australian breed record price of $80,000 was a pivotal moment for Yulgilbar, said Mr Sinnamon, with the homozygous poll sire bringing "outstanding structure, great reproductive performance and longevity", persisting in the stud for 16 years.
Mr Sinnamon will retain a role as chief advisor to the business, in control of genetic selection, sales and marketing. He will look to retain his role as director of the Casino food Co-op as well as currently a member of the Santa Gertrudis Breeders Australia Association Council.
Moving forward, Rob will also be interested to contribute further to the broader Industry by actively looking to sit on Agricultural and Pastoral Company related boards, while also looking at possibly securing additional consultancy and advisory work. Additionally the Sinnamon family, with son Andrew, will focus more on their own Riverina Santa Gertrudis stud, which currently run 150 stud cows at their property Mayfield near Kyogle.
Yulgilbar overseer Mr Ellem, who joined the pastoral company 14 years ago, will work together with farming manager Peter Hay and his wife Bec.
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