About Hardhat Angus

Hardhat Angus is a stud Angus herd offering superior phenotype, long-lasting, highly maternal cattle.

 

Stud Principal, Brad Cavanagh, was born and raised in Dubbo to Malcolm and Alana Cavanagh who, to this day, operate Cavanagh Building Services out of Dubbo. Brad’s passion for cattle was first realised when he became part of the St. John’s College, Dubbo Show Team. In the year 2000, Hardhat Angus was established when the Cavanagh family purchased their first 5 cows from Noonee Angus at Wellington.

Being a first generation cattle breeder, Brad became aware that he needed to dedicate his energies into learning all that there was to know about the Angus breed. He was fortunate enough to gain an Agricultural Cadetship with Twynam Agriculture Group, which took him throughout NSW working on numerous properties. Brad’s passion for stud cattle was deep seeded through the time he spent working with the Twynam stud Angus herd at Jemalong Station. The Twynam cattle were typically very focussed on genetic data, bred with a strong emphasis on carcass quality. These were traits that Brad knew were important to implement in his herd and were vital in meeting the needs of the Australian beef industry.

In 2010 Brad spent time in Pennsylvania, USA, learning under master breeder and mentor, Jeff Ward, at Sinclair Cattle Company. Sinclair was a large-scale line bred herd with specific focus on female longevity and breeding bulls that gave predictable results in their progeny. The benefit for Brad in studying a line breeding program, meant that he grew to have a sound understanding of how reducing the genetic variability increased the predictability and consistency of the herd overall.

The Sinclair herd was based on a line of cows from the original N Bar herd, based at Grass Range, Montana. Brad’s breeding philosophy today came from observing the productivity of those cows. Those cows were aged between 14 and 20 years and still in full production. The focus of the Hardhat herd is to produce cows that possess the physical attributes to allow them to live a long, productive life, and to produce bulls which are athletic, free-moving and long-living.

On returning to Australia Brad sourced genetics from the renowned Kansas Angus herd. The Annie cow family originating from the Summitcrest Ranch in Ohio was a standout performer. Kansas Annie Y21 has now had more influence on the Hardhat herd than any other cow. Great results have been achieved combining the Annie cow family with sires from the N Bar and Sinclair herds.

Brad is now based in Harden in the South West Slopes of NSW, with his wife, Jess, and their children. The breeding herd is managed in the Harden area. The bulls are developed in Dubbo under the supervision of Malcolm and Alana. The Cavanagh family invite you to inspect the cattle at any time.