We originally bought 150 acres in 2001, 5 minutes outside the rural city of Murray Bridge and 1 hour from Adelaide in South Australia and wanted to put beef cattle on it.  Tony had been dealing with dairy and beef cattle since he could walk but South Australia was vastly different to the North Queensland country he was used to.    At that time Tony did some extensive internet research and found a number of sites stating the top beef breeds.  The two top breeds classed as “excellent for eating quality” that kept popping up were the Highlanders and Belted Galloways.  We preferred naturally polled animals so we went with the Belted Galloways.

In 2002 Bonnibelt Belted Galloway Stud was established when we bought a small herd of Black Belted Galloways from a dispersal sale in 2001.  We were then very fortunate to buy an outstanding Red Belted Galloway cow, Budawang Relly, once again from a dispersal sale.  Relly, or Aunty Relly as we called her, went on to produce a number of immediate outstanding progeny, including Bonnibelt Zakuska and Bonnibelt Zahara.  With this small group and using Australian and Canadian semen, we then moved onto using our own bulls and introduced bulls from Catherine Field, Cumbria and Clan Ranald.  Once we had our numbers up, we were able to cull heavily to get the standard that we want which is deep heavy solid framed animals.  As at 2017 we have 19 stud breeding females and 5 commercial breeders.  As at November 2011 we have red, black and a few dun belties running around our paddocks.  We are continually trying to improve our Belted Galloways beef characteristics and have personally found that  during our quality control process where we have literally tasted over 200 of our belted Galloway and belted Galloway cross beef, that the animals carrying the strong red gene are overall just that bit  tenderer.

We now have a total of 750 acres of slight undulating marginal country which includes just under 200 acres of mallee scrub.  As Belted Galloways are known for their superior foraging ability, they fit in extremely well and thrive here.  Our average rainfall is 13 inches a year and we rely on natural and improved pasture and try and hold to bio-logic principles as much as we can, which lately (2016 – 2017) has proven to be extremely difficult as the seasons have been all over the place with summer weeds and winter weeds popping up when they normally would not think of surfacing It is slow going and quite difficult at times – but we are getting there.  Our animals are all pasture fed but do get some grain as a treat.  They hear the yell of “come on girls” and they come running.  We also hold to treating our animals as naturally as possible utilising Colloidal Silver, Kelp, Garlic Oil and MMS etc.  Also with Tony being a retired Bowen Therapist (another one of his many talents), the girls and boys often benefit when they have musculoskeletal problems.

In our earlier days, Ronnie and Clint, our 2 boys would often help out but they are now off doing their own thing.  Ronnie is on kangaroo Island and Clint is in the Mackay so they are both a bit far to call on when we need a hand, however, we are under strict instructions to bring Belted Galloway beef and Damara cross lamb for them whenever we go for a visit.

We started our farm gate beef sales in 2004 and our aim is to get people eating tasty, tender, naturally lean beef and have found that very easy when dealing with Belted Galloway beef.  Their magnificent hides are a good side product and have exported numerous hides to New Zealand and even Scotland.  As a result of what we are trying to achieve and combined with our work commitments, (both Paramedics in South Australia to help pay for all the fun we are having on the farm) we do not have time to show our animals.  However, our animals are always on show for those that wish to come and visit.

At the end of the day, a beef animal is only as good as its meat.

In trying to keep weeds under control more naturally, we invested in a small herd of Merino sheep – once again from a dispersal sale in 2007 and then a small herd of Damaras in 2009.  The Damaras are like the Belted Galloways and are very good foragers.  They have proven to be exceptional protectors of their young resulting in no loss of any of their lambs to foxes. When crossed with a Texel ram, the combination produced outstanding meat lambs.  This was the start of our farm gate lamb sales.  In 2011 we introduced a number of Dorper ewes for a Damara ram to go over, once again this has resulted in exceptional meat lambs.

Bonnibelt Belted Galloway Stud is continually trying to improve the Belted Galloway beef characteristics in a natural, stress free and as bio-logic environment as possible.

2019 saw us starting to downsize our Belted Galloway herd in the lead up to semi-retirement, with 2022 leaving us with a few commercial girls for our own needs.  We are still keeping a small flock of our Damara and Damara cross sheep for our lamb clients and buyers that are after beautiful coloured, easy to care for sheep.

A BIG congratulations to Sam Vivian of Baltimore Belted Galloway Stud who took out Senior Champion Belted Galloway Female at his first ever Royal Show (Adelaide 2013).  Sam is pictured with his Dad Stephen and Debbie Painter, Baltimore Jimmy and Bonnibelt Faith.  His Mum, Robyn said "the smile didn't come off his face for weeks".  Sam has done all the work with Faith with help from his parents and has even got them into getting 'belties' of their own.  Well done Sam!!

Bonnibelt Belted Galloway Stud features as the cover photo and in an

article in the September Issue of the Grass Roots publication.

Studmasters and owners/breeders of the Bonnibelt Belted Galloway Stud

Tony & Joanne Kreher - as they feature on the cover of the Grass Root publication

Grass Roots article pages below - click on photos to enlarge

Photographs taken by ElyssaFreethPhotograpy

     

Due to time constraints, I was not able to proofread the article before it went to the publisher and I apologise for any mistakes or slightly disjointed paragraphs.  Overall, we hope you enjoy the read.

Joanne