From long grass to livestock - starting from scratch

Today At Clavering Hill, we’re building a farm system that restores the landscape while producing great food. Every choice we make ~ whether it’s how we graze, when we move animals, or what we plant—serves a bigger purpose: to regenerate the soil, cycle carbon, and raise animals in harmony with nature.  However, it didn’t start that way.

When we first walked across Clavering Hill, nearly 10 years ago, the farm was weathered, poorly fenced and overgrown with grass and weeds, that at times, were above our hips. It had not had grazing animals on it for at least 15 years and nature had taken over.

Our first task, was to re-establish boundary fences and ensure that there was fresh water available across all permanent paddocks. With limited experience, we looked for an easy entry to livestock management and purchased a small herd of Angus and cross-bred Angus (baldie-faced) steers to fatten and finish on what was, at the time, particularly abundant pastures given that the paddocks had laid fallow for so long.  We had no yards or infrastructure, we were yet to build our house, but we knew enough to know that the animals were our first step in restoring the farm.

Our early challenges included managing our animals with temporary internal electric fences, while construction started on our house.  Cattle walking across the building site, eating our hay silt barriers and trampling through building materials, made for a fast learning curve on cattle containment. We read and studied everything we could get our hands on about farm systems, spoke to local farmers about their ways of doing things, we learned about the value of natural inputs, including water management and we made many mistakes. Because we had no fear of failure or pre-conceived ideas, and with the amazing support and mentoring of some close-by farming family members, we were able to build a farming system that suited our land and our farming objectives. 

A few years in, we decided to improve our herd by switching our focus to a breeding program, specialising in Angus cattle as they were the best fit for our farm’s unique ecology.  Not just because they perform well, but because their genetics, physiology and temperament align beautifully with our regenerative practices and climate.

Ultimately it was the connection between the qualities of Angus cattle and the unique characteristics of our farm that led us to breeding Angus cattle.

Key to these qualities were ~

Grass Efficiency & Feed Conversion:
Angus cattle are well known for their ability to convert forage into muscle efficiently. Research shows that Angus have a high feed efficiency on pasture-based diets, meaning they can gain weight and finish well without grain inputs. That makes them ideal for our 100% pasture-raised beef model.

Adaptability to Cool Climates:
Our farm sits in the Southern Highlands, with high rainfall, regular mist, and red volcanic soils. Angus are descended from hardy Scottish stock and have evolved to cope well with cool, wet environments.  Robertson, with an average rainfall of over 1600mm, fits this brief!

Genetic Marbling Traits:
Angus are prized globally for their ability to lay down intramuscular fat (marbling) on grass, not just grain. Marbling is linked to tenderness, juiciness, and flavour in beef. Research from Meat Standards Australia (MSA) confirms that marbling is one of the strongest predictors of eating quality—and Angus excel at it.

Low-Stress Temperament:
Low-stress stock handling is central to our approach. Angus cattle have a naturally calm temperament, which translates to better welfare, lower cortisol levels, and improved meat quality post-harvest. Stress can deplete glycogen in muscles and affect pH, leading to tougher meat. Calm cattle = better beef.

A System That Begins with the Right Genetics

Choosing a breed that suited our environment wasn’t just about convenience ~it was a cornerstone of our regenerative farming. After nearly 10 years of developing our system, we are extremely confident that we have a robust approach to raising cattle that are well adapted to their surroundings, require fewer inputs, experience less stress and actively contribute to soil improvement through managed grazing and it is reflected in the quality of the beef on the table.

Our starting point.

Getting our water management off the ground.

No yards meant we had to jump our first herd off the truck.

An early herd.