Our Story
Bullakeana was established in 1998 as a registered Brangus stud, named after our initial property in the South Burnett region (pictured). We started with 8 registered females and 30 cows enrolled by Lex Kunst.
From humble foundations, the focus of our breeding has remained steadfast throughout the years with 2023 marking our 25th year in the Brangus industry. We’re proud to say that over those 25 years we’ve stuck with our values of breeding cattle that we admire for their phenotype and physical attributes.
We developed our motto, ‘BEEF BONE BALANCE’ many moons ago to not only describe our cattle, but to use as a selection criteria that we continue to apply in-herd. We’ve devoted our efforts to slowly growing numbers by retaining select females and curating unique genetic depth, focusing on quality over quantity. We believe this process of developing strong, consistent and predictable cow families has stabilised our genetic brand in the breed. Our herd continues to be single sire mated with all progeny DNA tested.
Ultrablacks were introduced into our program in 2012 to provide a point of genetic difference for clients that were seeking less content. We saw an opportunity to blend our genetics with reputable Angus studs and integrated it into our herd, whilst continuing our traditional Brangus breeding program. It’s been an exciting journey so far and we’re thrilled to see more jumping on board and embracing the Ultrablack breed.
The Bullakeana herd now resides on ‘Woolthorpe’, located approximately 2 kilometres from Theodore. The stud has evolved into a self-replacing herd, producing 60-70 bulls annually that are sold both through the sale ring and privately.
Breeding Brangus is a passion shared with our four children, Isabella, Hayden, Arianna, and Annaka. From selecting specific joinings, to showing cattle to marketing our bulls, it’s a lifestyle that we’re grateful to experience. Isabella and Hayden have been working on-property since last year and have been working on improving infrastructure to optimise our practices and improve the marketing of not only our cattle, but Brangus as a breed.
We’re invested in the breed and its future, which is why we place such importance on programs like the Brangus Youth Camp. Being a part of the Brangus Youth Camp since its inception, we’ve seen many kids and families who have transitioned to Brangus because of their involvement through the camp. It’s a way for us to give back and watch the future of the breed flourish in safe hands.
It’s important for us to maintain commercial relevance in our breeding which we assess through various methods. We apply our kill data back to our herd to compare our genetics to their performance on the hook. We participate in carcass competitions and show led steers and commercial heifers to be able to gain industry perspective. We’re always working to improve that bottom line to ultimately keep moving forward on the incline.
In recent years, showing cattle has become our family's version of ‘Sunday golf’. It’s something we all love to be a part of. We’ve been fortunate to pick up various tri-coloured ribbons and grand champion titles, with the Rockhampton Brangus Feature Show and Ekka 2023 being our greatest feat. For us, we believe champion breeder’s group is the greatest compliment a stud can receive in the ring because it highlights consistency in breeding, which is what we’ve been working for. We’re proud to say we’ve won over 30 breeder’s group classes since BEEF 2021.
