Square Meaters are a home grown success story which owes its origins to Australia’s first developed beef breed, and its future to the pursuit of new levels of efficiency in premium beef production.
Characteristically a mature Square Meaters female will weigh around 450 kgs and be around 125 cms tall at the shoulder. She will be silver to grey in colour and polled, have a deep well muscled body and will produce her first calf at around 2 years of age with no calving difficulties. She will have a good udder and a plentiful milk supply. Her calves will be born small but show explosive early growth to weigh between 250 and 300 kgs at weaning. From only a few weeks of age they will exhibit a characteristic ‘rounded bum’.
Mature bulls weigh around 800 kgs and stand around 130 cm tall. He will have a deep, long, thick and muscular body on relatively short legs. Despite this shortness of leg Square Meaters bulls can easily serve larger frame females in commercial crossbreeding situations. Mated to females of any breed he will produce progeny with lower frame scores and increased muscling which will be able to be finished to market specifications at a relatively young age. He will also genetically dehorn his calves and give them calmer natures which make them easier to handle.
The Square Meaters Cattle Association has a height restriction on the registering of bulls and females. At 12 months of age bulls cannot be less than 103cm and not more than 113 cm at the shoulder. Only females which measure between 100 and 110 cm at the shoulder can be registered as “A” grades. This regulation is aimed at providing a safety net against animals becoming too small or regressing back to taller, slower maturing characteristics.