The Glen herd of grey cattle was established in 1940 by Mervyn Gadd with a grey bull sired by a black Angus registered sire from a grey commercial cow on the property Thologolong and 30 selected straight bred Angus heifers. Additional grey sires, also sired by black Angus bulls from grey cows, were sourced to continue the breeding program.
The herd was bred entirely for the purpose of commercial beef production. In 1960 bullocks from The Glen achieved record prices at saleyards in Homebush (Sydney), Wagga and Wodonga. In the same year, bullocks from The Glen set an Australian auction record at Newmarket in Melbourne.
In 1962 the Murray Grey Society was formed. Most (80%) of the straight bred greys, (with an 87.5% minimum grey blood) were either in The Glen herd or bred at The Glen. It was by far the largest and most influential of the foundation herds.
The Glen has enjoyed great success in steer and carcass competitions dating back to the early 1960s, taking home many Melbourne Royal Show championships.
Grey cattle and genetics from The Glen have been exported to the UK, USA, Canada, Argentina, South Africa, China, Japan and New Zealand.
In 1977 Mervyn Gadd was awarded the Order of Australia for his services to the Australian beef industry.
Mervyn’s youngest son and assistant manager, Michael, acquired ownership of The Glen on the dissolution of the family partnership, Mervyn Gadd & Sons, in 1985. Michael and wife Joy have owned and managed The Glen herd since 1985. The production sales commenced in 1971 and have been held annually to this day.
In the late 1990s selected high performing Angus genetics were included in the breeding program with outstanding results.
In 2002 The Glen was awarded the Beef Improvement Association Victorian Seedstock Producer Of The Year in recognition of the success of the breeding program and commitment to genetic improvement.
Since 2003, The Glen’s Grey herd has been run in conjunction with The Glen’s straight-bred registered Angus breeding program.
The Grey cattle are run in the same management groups as the straight-bred Angus. Breedplan EBV’s are generated from data collected on farm and from the same DNA analysis. The Grey females are mated (naturally or by Artificial Insemination) to the same Angus sires that are used in the straight-bred Angus breeding program.
The Glen’s policy of infusing modern Angus genetics into the Grey herd over the past 20 years has re-aligned the genotype of the Grey cattle even more closely to that of the straight-bred Angus.
The infusion of high performing Angus genetics into the grey herd has enhanced growth and marbling especially and complements the retail beef yield, muscling and temperament for which the grey cattle are highly regarded.
Currently, about 100 grey females are mated annually.
