When most think of Jindabyne, it would be the last place you would expect to find a Brangus and Braford cattle operation, where it snows three times a year 1000 metres above sea level.
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However, that is exactly what breeds you will find throughout fifth generation grazier Milton Golby and his son Ben's 1200 hectare operation, Inglebyra, south of Jindabyne.
After initially running Hereford's, Milton along his wife Adele made the decision to change over to a breed with some Brahman content in the 1970's after purchasing Inglebyra from his uncle Greg Golby.
"It was all Brair bush and tussocks and fallen timber when I bought it," Mr Golby said.
"So I cleared it up and ploughed it and sowed it, then the Hereford cows started bloating.
"I blew six in one night on the improved country and the clover."
That was the point when Mr Golby thought something had to change.
Having spent time in Queensland where he was shearing his way around the state in the 1970s, that's where Mr Golby first saw mob of Brafords near Longreach.
"I liked the look of Santa Gertrudis cattle but I thought I couldn't bring them here, otherwise I'd get shot," Mr Golby said.
"So I thought if I put Braford over them, no one will know the difference."
The durability of the Brafords and their ability to eat roughage such as tussocks and tree leaves found in his mountain country was what sold Mr Golby on the breed.
"Only 30 per cent of the property is improved pastures," Mr Golby's son Ben said.
"The rest is native pastures and open woodland.
"Some of it was too steep and rough to worry about."
But it wasn't only the durability of the Braford cattle that worked for the family, it was also their ability to "get out and walk" to work the country.
"I travelled from here up to the end of the bitumen droving them on horse back all the time," Mr Golby said.
"And you only had to open the gate and then try and keep up with them.
"After a while I used to open the gates that they'd go in because you'd knock your horse up trying to keep up with them."
In the 1990's, the family introduced Brangus cattle due to the change in the markets, which was reflective in high prices at the time.
As his Brangus herd grew he found it was easier to manage just one breed especially when his wife Adele passed away, who was a integral part of the Braford side of the business.
Now his herd is mainly Brangus, with 30 Braford cows remaining.
Distance is no barrier when it comes to sourcing genetics for the operation.
The main bloodlines for the Brangus have been Belview Brangus, Myall Creek; Bimbadeen Brangus, Eidsvold, Queensland and Jakara Brangus, Staghorn Flat, Victoria, with the recent addition of Kimberly Downs, Pound Creek, Victoria adding to the mix.
As for the Brafords, Chadwick Downs, Coonabarabran, has played a large part in the Golby's operation as well as Taroela Brafords, Taroom, Qld. They have also purchased bulls from Sydney Royal when the studs came down for the show.
The operation now calves down 200 cows each year, retaining 50 heifers as future breeders, with the young females due in the autumn and the older cows in the spring.
"In autumn they make too much milk and the little fellas can't handle the milk," Mr Golby said.
"It's better to calve them in the spring because there's no grass around so they don't make so much milk, especially for the older girls anyway."
Along with the easier udder maintenance, Mr Golby said since changing over to the Bos Indicus cattle, they had no issues with pinkeye or bloat.
The main market for the offspring is either through Barnawartha or Wagga Wagga, with the steers being turned off at around 450 kilograms, with return buyers purchasing the cattle over the years.
His son Ben said the family had some recent success with some of their Brangus steers at Barnawatha saleyards, weighing 456kg returning $1400 or 307 cents per kilogram.
"The tops of them averaged 464kg in the yards here and when they got over there they averaged 440kg and only lost five per cent," he said.
"I was putting Stock Tranz salt blocks in the water troughs to make them travel a bit better.
"They're like an electrolyte in their water supply."
When it comes to other supplements for the cattle, the family also saw improvement with Olsen's KEG 10 probiotic blocks, helping the cattle digest less palatable feed.
"They'll get into the swamp grass that they won't touch during summer," Mr Golby said.
"They're quite happy and all cleaned up by the end of winter.
"You know there's not a lot of nutrition in it, yet they seem to do a lot better then the British breeds."
But with the next generation, his son Ben plans to continue on with the Brangus in the future with his wife Danielle and children Jacob and Poppy.
"We will be focusing on good feet, fertility and temperament," he said.
