Hartwood farm is home to the tuli cattle breed in australia.

Jack Milbank, the founder of Hartwood Agriculture farms with the help and support of his daughters, breed collaborators and friends across 2000 acres of diverse, dispersed country. Our Approach to Cattle production is founded on genetic adaptation supported by regenerative methods of soil and pasture health to compliment animal health. With a production base in the Bundaberg region, this enables us at Hartwood Cattle to really put genetics to the test for fertility in hard conditions. Bundaberg has seasonal rain from Dec to April with very high humidity, a very high and fast developing parasite load and low protein feed so for an animal to thrive in the Hartwood program means it will thrive just about anywhere hot.

Cattle production has been continuously in my family since 1690 when the Milbank family purchased Barningham Park in county Durham, England where an Angus program continues to operate to this day. My great uncle moved to Kenya in 1908 followed by grandfather in 1947 where our family history with Boran began. I grew up on a cattle and game ranch in Zimbabwe where as a young boy, I was exposed to the resilience of the Mashona, and Tuli and the value of handling animals with a good temperament. These cows were often cross bred with terminal British and Euro sires for the export beef trade to the EU and UK where payments were obviously closely linked to carcass quality.

Immediately following completion of my study at UQ Gatton our families farms were re-distributed without compensation and so my journey to re-establish the sort of fertile, heat tolerent cattle I was familiar with here in Australia. Fortunately the CSIRO was on the same page and had recently completed the arduous process of introducing Tuli, Boran and Mashona genetics to Australia. It did take me a 15 yr apprenticeship in understanding Australian agriculture and building the capacity to once again produce premium, hardy cattle. We are not afraid of integrating best practise, strategic use, of suitable supplements and chemical parasite control, although this is minimised to ensure animals are conditioned to their environment and a focus on immunity development through exposure to common issues early, genetic adaptation is however still our primary selection tool.

I believe my experience in starting up and running several companies including an analytical laboratory, a microbial innoculant manufacturer, a microbrewery and a software platform has equipped me well to aggregate these skills in critically assessing what is required to manage resilient animals holistically.

In 2022 I embarked on my first Embryo program with 8 donor cows matched with a wide selection of Sires to broaden the genetic pool and ensure consistent, efficient, structurally sound progeny continue to be available to the rest of the world outside of Southern Africa, We also commenced new breeding opportunities with Imported Mashona Embryos from the USA & expanded the cross-breeding combinations under the single Solera framework. Tuli x Boran x Drakensberger for example to produce a range of Black Sanga cattle that with thrive in the Australian environment and suit the market demand. In 2024 we continued with 21 donor cows in our first IVF program with incredible outcross combinations to mainstream genetics available for our expanding client base of progressive producers.

Every animal must perform on 100% grass and Hartwood Cattle Co. promote the adoption of a “balance” between all cattle traits. Optimum size/performance in our Cattle Genetics is much more productive for our cattle which translates to profitability for our clients. The selection criteria that comprise the Hartwood breeding program is as important as the breed of cattle and how their genetics are incorporated into each animal.

All good things take time, especially cattle breeding, so i am in this for the long haul and understand that our clients are too, but one thing is certain without adaptation to change one does not survive. The most import lesson I have learned is that it is people, and their mindset, not cattle or the climate or market conditions that are the limitation to the success of an enterprise. So I warmly welcome all those ready for change to the Hartwood program.