Palgrove: David and Prue Bondfield run one of Australia’s leading stud beef operations

BEEF farming doesn’t come much bigger or better than at David and Prue Bondfield’s Palgrove operation.

Bullish stocks: David and Prue Bondfield lead the way in cattle, with five properties covering 10,500 hectares across two states, selling 1000 bulls a year.

BEEF farming doesn’t come much bigger or better than at David and Prue Bondfield’s Palgrove operation.

From their base in southern Queensland, the couple run one of Australia’s leading stud beef operations spread across more than 10,500 hectares on five properties across two states. If that’s not enough, they sell a whopping 1000 bulls a year.

Operating on the notion that “information is the most powerful tool”, David and Prue’s Charolais, Charbray and Ultrablack studs have attracted a loyal following from beef producers across the nation seeking structurally sound cattle backed by impressive performance figures.

And their success speaks for itself: the Bondfields have gone from running 50 stud cows 25 years ago to 2300 today, and from selling 23 bulls at auction for an average of $1380 to last year selling 168 for an average of $11,000.

The Bondfields have collected major interbreed titles at shows across Australia and more recently have enjoyed success in leading steer and carcass competitions.

The Palgrove business is headquartered across two properties at Dalveen, south of Warwick, in Queensland, with a “flagship” property at Ben Lomond in NSW’s New England and two bull depots: at Drillham, east of Roma, and Emerald.

“North to south between the properties is about 1300km but we pick up different markets and certainly different weather patterns — it’s a bit of a drought-proofing deal as well,” David said.

Palgrove operates with a permanent staff of about eight plus casual workers. David said the next growth phase of the business would be building “a larger commercial arm ... not only to increase our economies of scale but also to be able to progeny test our own genetics”.

Big is not always best, but in this case, the sheer size and success of the Palgrove operation makes David and Prue Bondfield outstanding winners of The Weekly Times Coles 2016 Beef Farmer of the Year.