King Kleberg and Kolton Grigg, from King Ranch, Texas, check out the cattle during a quick stopover at NIOA Santa Gertrudis with stud manager Shannon Gardner

TWO young Texan ranchers whose families are deeply entwined with the birthplace of Santa Gertrudis cattle have made a visit to the region in Queensland where it all began for the breed Down Under.

King Kleberg, 21, and Kolton Grigg, 20, from King Ranch, Texas are on a two-month study tour showcasing the best of Australia’s Santa cattle country.

Last Friday, July 4 – US Independence Day – they stopped by Talgai Homestead, the home of NIOA Santa Gertrudis, on Queensland’s Southern Darling Downs.

King represents the next generation of the family synonymous with King Ranch – one of the most legendary ranches in the world which traces its history back to 1853 – while Kolton’s father Heath Grigg runs the 335,000ha operation.

The Allora-Warwick region has deep historical roots to the Santa breed in Australia. It was where, in 1952, King Ranch set up its Australian headquarters at “Risdon” Warwick and where the first sale of a dozen imported American bulls was held on November 14 that year.

Early King Ranch Santa Gertrudis bull sale

The story was so big at the time that it made the front page of Brisbane’s Courier-Mail newspaper the next day. The paper reported that 1200 people attended the auction with the top-priced bull fetching 1500 guineas to FG Schmidt of Avondale, Cunnamulla.

From that first bull sale, the breed – blending tropical adaptation with meat quality and carcase weight – has spread throughout Australia contributing significantly to the nation’s beef production.

While Risdon is no longer a Santa stud, the Allora-Warwick district has retained its historical links to the bloodline through NIOA Santa Gertrudis, Stud No. 2122, established by Rob and Eliza Nioa in 2014.

King, the great-great nephew of Robert Justus Kleberg Jr who ran King Ranch for almost 50 years until his death in 1974, said he was humbled to belong to the family line that pioneered the “cherry reds”.

“I’m very proud of the fact that my ancestors have had such a lasting impact on the breed and the cattle world itself,” he said.

“Growing up around Santa Gertrudis – that’s the main breed that I’ve known – I worked on the ranch basically every summer in the cattle operation. It’s been really cool knowing the story (about the breed’s foundations), getting to see how passionate people here are about the breed… and knowing that my ancestors had a part in developing them here in Australia.”

However, the Texan duo’s visit is more about looking forward, than looking back.

Their two-month itinerary, organised by Santa Gertrudis Australia, is part of a mission to delve into both commercial and stud operations. It will culminate with a visit to Ekka Beef Week in August – the biggest annual stud cattle competition in the Southern Hemisphere.

Kolton has been impressed with how local breeders are advancing genetics and hoped it would foster greater Australia-US collaboration.

“We’ve seen a lot of good genetics around here,” he said. “It would be interesting to see how we can communicate better and improve the genetics of Santa Gertrudis overall.”

“It’s been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get out and see different country, the land, how we do stuff similar to each other, how we do things differently, and how we can learn from each other.”

NIOA Santa Gertrudis general manager Shannon Gardner said it was a pleasure to host the young ranchers.

“Santas are now one of Australia’s major beef breeds and it all began in this part of Queensland,” he said. “We were glad to welcome King and Kolton to share in their knowledge and for them to hear about our breeding practices.”

In recent years, NIOA has invested in some of the best sires and stud females in the business sourced from studs including Yarrawonga, Yulgilbar, Riverina, Bullamakinka, Goolagong, Glen Oaks, Talgai, Rosevale, Riverslea and Gyranda.

The current sire battery boasts Yarrawonga Spartacus – the Australian breed record-holder purchased by the stud in 2022 for $250,000 as well as the former Australian breed record-holder Riverina Roland Sanchez ($160,000).

• The stud holds its annual sale at Talgai Homestead on Thursday, September 4.
• Brisbane Show stud beef judging takes place from 8.30am on Friday, 8 August.