Dr George Seifert

After nearly a lifetime of involvement with the  Belmont breed, Dr George Seifert has decided it is time to retire from breeding registered Belmonts. He has thus sold his entire registered Montpellier Belmont herd to his daughter, Jeanne. George will still maintain a commercial herd of Belmonts and remain active in the Association for a few more years.

George was responsible for the Breeding Programme at CSIRO Belmont Research Station from 1963 until his early retirement in 1978. George’s research proved that the fertility of the Africander cross line made it the most productive of all the cattle lines at Belmont. This led to the release of the Africander cross line as the Belmont Red in 1968.

The release coincided with a period in which the popularity of the Brahman and its crosses was at its peak. The unconventional Africander cross (Belmont) was therefore rejected by the cattle industry. During the early 1970’s, George developed a strong personal working relationship with Tom Rudder of the QDPI. Together they started trials on commercial properties to evaluate Belmont bulls against all other popular breeds. Only then did the Belmont receive some acceptance in the industry. 

George established the Breed composition and the regulations for the Belmont Red when they were released. They were then registered as an appendix in the then Australian Africander Breeders Association herd book. He served on that Council for a number of years.

The Seifert’s bought their first small undeveloped coastal cattle property, “Malabar”, near Yeppoon in 1976. The property came with a herd of 30 high grade Brahmans. They were supplemented with another 25 Brahman cross cows. All these were mated to a very small ugly pure Africander bull bought from CSIRO. These formed the initial nucleus of the “Montpellier Belmonts”. These cattle brought interesting but not complimentary commentary from his neighbours. Later “Montpellier”, a larger undeveloped property close to Malabar was acquired. The herd was then increased gradually by purchases from Mt Eugene, Belmont Research Station and Bruce Burrows. The original bulls were predominantly from Belmont. Bulls were occasionally exchanged with Mt Eugene to strengthen linkages.

The Seifert’s motto was “We are all in this mess together”. Thus the property development and the cattle breeding on a very limited budget was a family affair. Mary was a senior Biochemist with the Commonwealth Health Laboratories, George a senior scientist with CSIRO and George Jr., Karen and Jeanne were still in primary school. No outside help was employed. The development and cattle work therefore took place on weekends and holidays. Mary was the treasurer, book-keeper and organizer. George planned operations and the children were the labourers and cattle hands. Mustering the original Brahmans in the dense suckers at Malabar gave the whole family excellent experience in cattle behaviour, and a great appreciation for the value of temperament. It also led to some heated verbal exchanges between George and his work force!

Every weekend and most holidays were committed to fencing, picking up sticks and cattle work, irrespective of weather conditions. In spite of this the family survived. Criteria for boyfriends were whether they could handle cattle and fencing pliers. Strike action only came from Jeanne while picking up sticks in 40 degree December heat.  All three children developed into very competent farm workers, horsemen and cattlemen. They also developed a passion for the land, Belmont cattle and horses. Karen and Jeanne both have cattle properties running exclusively Belmonts. George jnr’s ambition is to also breed Belmonts once he has paid off his tertiary education and overseas travel debts!

Montpellier and Malabar are typical coastal environments. Soil fertility is very low. Consequently pasture nutrition even during the flush of the season is poor. Parasite burdens are high. The Montpellier herd is managed with minimal environmental modifications such as parasite treatments (no dipping, acaracide or buffalo fly treatments) and nutritional supplements. The phenotypic growth and fertility rates are therefore well below the breed average. His stubborn refusal to prepare bulls for sale precluded selling bulls at sales. The few bulls he sold were on performance in their paddock “working clothes”. This often required a high degree of faith in performance, and not in appearance from prospective buyers.

George rigorously applied his philosophy of cattle breeding and selection to the Montpellier herd. His vast experience in cattle breeding convinced him that selecting cattle for high performance in a harsh environment would not be genetically detrimental when they were transferred to more benign environments. This philosophy has been vindicated.  Montpellier bulls have been trait leaders for 600d weight in 2003 and 2004. His greatest satisfaction came from observing the genetic trend of traits he considered important in the Montpellier herd.

 Montpellier, Mt Eugene and Tremere were partners in the CRC1 programme. The results from this extensive experiment validated much of what was know about the Belmont. It also added more important information about the breed, especially about meat quality.

George’s obsession with cattle and the land in later years caused Mary frequently to threaten divorce proceedings. The decision to finally start the process of withdrawing from cattle and the land was music to Mary’s ears. However, in spite of her obvious resentment at times, Mary remained his strongest supporter, and at times his severest critic.  

George’s long association with the Belmont and his absolute commitment to objective selection long before it was accepted by the cattle Industry, led to a turbulent relationship with the Industry hierarchy. A breed with a standard of excellence based entirely on objective measurement was an anachronism for the cattle industry, and led to criticism, ridicule, and condemnation. Most of this was directed at George. However, upon reflection, in spite of his often turbulent career, he wouldn’t have done anything differently, if given another chance. This is because of his strong conviction that the individual must always do what is right, and not necessarily what is popular or the convention of the day.

It has been disappointing that many breeders who initially had the courage to embrace the breed, gradually wilted under the pressure of condemnation. Although understandable, because of the low acceptance, a number of Belmont breeders found it financially more rewarding to adopt and promote imported genetically similar breeds.  The promotion of these breeds was usually done on the assumption that, because there were genetic similarities in their make up, the imported breeds would possess the same performance qualities of the Belmont. The Belmonts scientifically documented performance was therefore a good platform from which to launch the new breeds. This was often done at the expense of the Belmont. 

George made many rewarding and lasting friendships through his involvement with the Belmont. Particularly rewarding has been the faith that his children have shown in his philosophy. It is particularly pleasing for him to visit Jeanne’s property, “Roslyn”, and observe her enthusiasm and drive. She is dedicated to promote the Belmont on its merits. She has no intention of apologizing for the fallacious perception that the breed has a poor appearance. George has no doubt that Jeanne will do a better job than what he did. According to him this is genetic progress!