Native Angus®
Angus History and Development
“The Aberdeen-Angus breed was developed in the early part of the 19th century from the polled and predominantly black cattle of north east Scotland, known locally as “doddies” and “hummlies”.
The earliest families trace back to the middle of the eighteenth century, but it was much later that the Herd Book (1862) and the Society (1879) were founded. The breed’s establishment was entirely due to the efforts of three very progressive lairds and farmers of that time.
Hugh Watson became tenant of Keillor Farm in Angus in 1808. He gathered stock widely and produced cattle of outstanding quality and character.
William McCombie took the farm of Tillyfour in Aberdeenshire in 1824 and founded a herd from predominantly Keillor bloodlines. His well-documented close breeding produced outstanding cattle that he showed widely in England and France. The reputation of the Aberdeen-Angus breed was founded on the efforts of the McCombie family.
Sir George Macpherson-Grant returned to his inherited estate at Ballindalloch, on the River Spey, from Oxford in 1861 and took up the refining of the breed that was to be his life’s work for almost 50 years.
By line breeding and selection for type, these early pioneers established the foundation for what is unarguably the greatest beef breed in the world.
In those early days Britain was regarded as the fount of Aberdeen-Angus genetics and leading world breeders came here to source stock. The export market has continued to favour the Aberdeen-Angus breed and now breeders look worldwide to source the very best genetics. Today, the Society has cemented its position as the world’s finest beef breed with worldwide recognition producing premium quality beef.”
Native Angus®
Angus History and Development
“The Aberdeen-Angus breed was developed in the early part of the 19th century from the polled and predominantly black cattle of north east Scotland, known locally as “doddies” and “hummlies”.
The earliest families trace back to the middle of the eighteenth century, but it was much later that the Herd Book (1862) and the Society (1879) were founded. The breed’s establishment was entirely due to the efforts of three very progressive lairds and farmers of that time.
Hugh Watson became tenant of Keillor Farm in Angus in 1808. He gathered stock widely and produced cattle of outstanding quality and character.
William McCombie took the farm of Tillyfour in Aberdeenshire in 1824 and founded a herd from predominantly Keillor bloodlines. His well-documented close breeding produced outstanding cattle that he showed widely in England and France. The reputation of the Aberdeen-Angus breed was founded on the efforts of the McCombie family.
Sir George Macpherson-Grant returned to his inherited estate at Ballindalloch, on the River Spey, from Oxford in 1861 and took up the refining of the breed that was to be his life’s work for almost 50 years.
By line breeding and selection for type, these early pioneers established the foundation for what is unarguably the greatest beef breed in the world.
In those early days Britain was regarded as the fount of Aberdeen-Angus genetics and leading world breeders came here to source stock. The export market has continued to favour the Aberdeen-Angus breed and now breeders look worldwide to source the very best genetics. Today, the Society has cemented its position as the world’s finest beef breed with worldwide recognition producing premium quality beef.”
Native Angus® - the blueprint of the breed
Angus History and Development
“The Aberdeen-Angus breed was developed in the early part of the 19th century from the polled and predominantly black cattle of north east Scotland, known locally as “doddies” and “hummlies”.
The earliest families trace back to the middle of the eighteenth century, but it was much later that the Herd Book (1862) and the Society (1879) were founded. The breed’s establishment was entirely due to the efforts of three very progressive lairds and farmers of that time.
Hugh Watson became tenant of Keillor Farm in Angus in 1808. He gathered stock widely and produced cattle of outstanding quality and character.
William McCombie took the farm of Tillyfour in Aberdeenshire in 1824 and founded a herd from predominantly Keillor bloodlines. His well-documented close breeding produced outstanding cattle that he showed widely in England and France. The reputation of the Aberdeen-Angus breed was founded on the efforts of the McCombie family.
Sir George Macpherson-Grant returned to his inherited estate at Ballindalloch, on the River Spey, from Oxford in 1861 and took up the refining of the breed that was to be his life’s work for almost 50 years.
By line breeding and selection for type, these early pioneers established the foundation for what is unarguably the greatest beef breed in the world.
In those early days Britain was regarded as the fount of Aberdeen-Angus genetics and leading world breeders came here to source stock. The export market has continued to favour the Aberdeen-Angus breed and now breeders look worldwide to source the very best genetics. Today, the Society has cemented its position as the world’s finest beef breed with worldwide recognition producing premium quality beef.”
Angus in North America
“The First Angus In America. When George Grant transported four Angus bulls from Scotland to the middle of the Kansas prairie in 1873, they were part of the Scotsman's dream to found a colony of wealthy, stock-raising Britishers. Grant died five years later, and many of the settlers at his Victoria, Kansas colony later returned to their homeland. However, these four Angus bulls, probably from the herd of George Brown of Westertown, Fochabers, Scotland, made a lasting impression on the U.S. cattle industry.
Early Importers and Breeders. The first great herds of Angus beef cattle in America were built up by purchasing stock directly from Scotland. Twelve hundred cattle alone were imported, mostly to the Midwest, in a period of explosive growth between 1878 and 1883 . Over the next quarter of a century these early owners, in turn, helped start other herds by breeding, showing, and selling their registered stock.”
From Breeds of Livestock - Angus Cattle, Department of Animal Science, Oklahoma State University
Angus in Australia
“The first record of black cattle imported into Australia was of 8 black cattle that were unloaded at the Hobart Town docks in Tasmania on the 20th January 1824. These cattle were taken to Dennistoun the property of Captain Patrick Wood, near Bothwell.
They were regarded by early writers and then by the Angus Society of Australia as the first cattle to come to Australia of a type similar to those that formed the Angus breed in the following 60 years. The genes of these early cattle that arrived at the Hobart Town docks remain in the Edgell’s family Dennistoun Angus herd today, and it remains the oldest property to continuously run Angus cattle in Australia.
One of the greatest catalysts for the development of the Angus breed in Australia was the formation of a society in 1919. This happened only because of the determination of a small group of Queenslanders. When the first herd book was published in 1922, it listed 14 members from every state except South Australia. It included 65 bulls, 313 cows, and a number of cattle in the appendices, plus provided a short history of Angus studs in Australia and listed the royal show winners for the previous year.”