Lurg Cattle Co. was established in 1981 by fifth generation farmers Rob Richardson and Alana Johnson at ‘Cleadon’ near Benalla in NE Victoria.

Situated on traditional Taungurung country at the foot hills of the Great Dividing Range, Angus cattle have been raised at Cleadon since the early 1900s.

To redress the environmental impact of decades of early colonial farming practices, Lurg Cattle Co. has adopted a systems approach to achieve a sustainable equilibrium of natural resources and biodiversity, producing positive ecological outcomes alongside the production of high-quality genetics and red meat protein.

Cleadon is now central to an award winning habitat restoration project that stretches through the Lurg hills and beyond.

Why we farm

Looking out the picture windows of our 1911 farm house, you can observe with binoculars at hand, kangaroos quietly grazing or just passing by, an echidna fossicking, a koala in a nearby Blakely’s red gum, antechinus scurrying along the outside of the window frame.

On the farm dam the occasional pelican and ducks seek refuge, high up in a nearby ironbark a White-faced Heron returns yearly to nest, on the ground Grass Parrots, Eastern Rosella’s, Magpies and the rare Grey- crowned Babbler, forage for seed and insects, collect twigs and grass to make nests. Flame Robins, Superb Ferry Wrens, Willy Wagtails flit about . The occasional pair of King Parrots and Gang Gang Cockatoos drop by to forage in an old English Oak tree, flocks of Ibis pass overhead or drop in to feed. When the Ironbark flowers, dozens of Red Wattlebirds arrive to feed and Welcome Swallows nest undercover of the veranda. The Blue- Faced Honeyeaters return annually, Cockatoos and Galahs are regular visitors, Laughing Kookaburras can be heard off in the distance and high in the sky a pair of Wedgetail Eagles circle.

Livestock Management

Cattle have access to clean spring water from a source at the head of a natural water course, one of two that run through the length of the property. The springs also provide the ideal environment for turtles, snakes and goannas on those increasingly hot summer days. Spring water is gravity piped to all points of the farm into troughs supplying 24 paddocks.

As a backup in those long dry drought years, water is pumped from an underground bore using an electric pump powered by solar. Established farm dams are now being fenced off, the surrounds planted out and left to regenerate habitat and to act as a water filter, mimicking small wetlands as the water levels rise and fall during the typical cycle of wet winters and long hot dry summers.

Pastures are fertilised to replenish the nutrients exported off the farm as high-quality Angus beef protein and genetics. At the same time nutrients are being recycled in the form of manure and urine completing the cycle. Perennial grasses help to sequester carbon in the soil, clover adds a natural source of nitrogen enabling grasses to flourish.

Lime is added periodically to help balance the naturally occurring acid soils. Cattle are rotated around the farm to allow rest time for pastures to regenerate and thrive. Bulls are selected for traits that will help improve adaption to the more severe conditions associated with climate change. After decades of careful genetic selection and breeding, the high quality free range Angus grass fed cattle produced by Lurg Cattle Co. are supplied to the domestic and international markets.

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Land management

For more than four decades the rocky hillsides have been fenced off to protect and promote healthy habitat and biodiversity. Today dense patches of the once common everlasting daisy again flourish and adorn this rocky landscape.

Low cost electric fencing is used to protect the riparian zone next to waterways. Recycled plastic is used in components and power is generated by photovoltaic solar panels. Planting of native trees, understory and ground cover plants has been ongoing since the 1980s. In the 1990’s plantations of Ironbark, Stringybark, Blue Gum and She Oak were added to increase biodiversity habitat and to provide for long term diversification of income. A cycle of growth, harvest and renewal over a forty to sixty year period not only sequesters valuable carbon but provides habitat for woodland birds including the critically endangered Regent Honeyeater.

The rugged ironbark and magnificent yellow box trees provide nectar for woodland birds and kangaroos and wombats move freely across this landscape. The iconic wedgetail eagle nests high up in a 400 year old yellow box tree we call ‘Old Yella’ the beating heart of Cleadon. Nest boxes for squirrel and sugar gliders are strategically placed along habitat corridors to augment the natural hollows in trees.

Leaky handmade rock walls have been strategically built across waterways to slow water movement and to trap sediment and debris. Trees that fall to the ground from natural causes are left to decompose and recycle nutrients, suitable trees are milled on site for usable timber products where carbon will be stored for the life of the product. Trees that aren’t millable become a source of home heating or sold to the commercial fire wood market.