McIntyre Agriculture: How Queensland farming empire grew from 27 to 20,000 cattle
From one bull and 27 breeders to a 20,000-head cattle empire – how this Queensland farming family defied agricultural conventions to build their success.
When Hamish and Mary McIntyre established McIntyre Agriculture in 1998, they started with just 27 breeders and one bull.
Hamish was working as an agronomist and managing an irrigation development at Dirranbandi, Queensland, where the couple saved enough for a deposit on their first farm.
Today, their business spans nine properties across Queensland, runs 20,000 breeding females, and operates two feedlots finishing 10,000 head each year.
The St George-based operation has grown to 230,000 hectares through a deliberate strategy of diversification and geographic spread.
“Mary and I have developed a business with as many income streams as possible with as much diversity as possible to ride out the highs and lows of ag, whether it’s related to rainfall or commodity prices,” Hamish said.
STRATEGIC SPREAD
The scale and spread of McIntyre Ag reflects years of strategic expansion.
At Quilpie 160,000 hectares carries predominantly Angus cattle in conjunction with a small merino flock and rangeland goats to provide woody weed control.
At St George and Dirranbandi, another 65,000 hectares is used for cattle breeding, grain crops and to run Dorper meat sheep.
Two feedlots at St George and Roma carry about 10,000 head on feed.
Dryland country produces barley and wheat with chickpea rotations.
Irrigation operates when water is available through entitlements on the Condamine-Balonne system.
Cotton is grown across most of the 3500 hectares of irrigated country.
“Cotton is the cash flow crop we produce when water is available,” Hamish said.
The operation extends 550 kilometres to Beaudesert, where the McIntyres have operated a broiler farm for the last three years.
F1 Wagyu cattle also run on the property there.
The most recent expansion came in April 2025 with the acquisition of a 16,000-hectare property, Hollins Bay, northeast of Rockhampton.
It will produce purebred Wagyu cattle for their feedlots.
“We have plenty of drier country with low rainfall where we’re producing animals and we are now diversifying into high rainfall areas to help with supply chains in the beef industry,” Hamish said.
“We’re increasing the geographic spread of our business to help offset dry times.”
The plan for the property is to produce about 2500 wagyu calves each year.
VERTICAL INTEGRATION
A large proportion of grain, cottonseed and hay produced across the operation is used to feed their own cattle.
Both feedlots sit within or near grain-growing country.
“We are value-adding all those commodities out here close to where they are produced,” Hamish said.
“The cost of freight is high where we are, to get to port, so we achieve better gross margins by value-adding all we can.”
It even extends to fertiliser.
“We plan to bring our chicken litter from Beaudesert out to St George, mix it with feedlot manure and use it to start our fertiliser program,” Hamish said.
Most calves go through the feedlot system if not retained for replacements.
Cattle enter at 400 kilograms liveweight and are fed for 100 to 180 days depending on the program.
All cattle are processed by 21 to 22 months of age.
Cattle are sent weekly to Kilcoy Global Foods and to JBS Foods for local and international markets.
F1 Wagyu cattle are processed monthly throughout the year to various processors depending on contracts and arrangements with end users.
Much of the wagyu goes to America, China, Japan and South Korea.
WAGYU ADVANTAGE
The McIntyres started crossing Angus heifers with wagyu bulls about 10 years ago for ease of calving management.
What emerged was unexpected performance in harsh conditions.
Bull joining ratios in western areas run at three per cent for wagyu compared to four to five per cent for Angus.
“Wagyu animals – the bulls and F1 crossbreds – are amazingly resilient,” Hamish said.
“In our drier western breeding country, they handle the conditions as well as Brahmans do and they are also extremely fertile.
“The durability in harsh conditions plus fertility is obvious and it reflects in the results and values we get in the carcasses.
“We have large paddocks in the west, we are continuously joining and we are weaning anywhere from 85 per cent of cows in those paddocks.
“It is fantastic from a productivity point of view.”
Wagyu genetics originated from AACo and Westholme bulls.
The operation now works with Arubial at Condamine.
Fertility ranks as the number one selection trait, followed by 600-day growth, eye muscle area and marbling.
All cattle are DNA tested at branding and cattle are then drafted accordingly at weaning.
Results determine whether animals return to breeding or which market program suits their genetics.
Target processing weights for wagyu sit between 460 and 520 kilograms liveweight with an average marble score of 6.5.
UNDER COVER
Two sheds to house 1500 head of long-fed cattle at St George were completed in December 2024.
The McIntyres researched the project for five to 10 years before committing to the build.
All long-fed cattle are now shedded to improve performance.
Hamish said early results watching cattle handle the heat last summer and wet conditions as well, have confirmed the investment.
“It’s a pilot plan but from what we are seeing it looks obvious to us that as we develop feedlots further we will do it under sheds,” Hamish said.
Return on investment is estimated at three to five years depending on pricing.
While infrastructure could be built, workforce issues were harder to solve.
Hamish said access to labour limited their enterprise growth more than anything else.
“We can manage most areas of business but access to appropriate labour to do the jobs is our biggest constraint in a diversified business like we have,” he said.
“We’ve learnt how to manage droughts and dries with the feedlot, we also run our own trucks, but getting the appropriate people to operate machinery, and that are happy to live in the isolated areas, is the big challenge we are facing in ag.”
GROWING THROUGH DROUGHT
The severe drought period from 2013 to 2020 tested the business.
Hamish and Mary’s response to it was counterintuitive – rather than buying feed, they bought land.
“It was more economical to buy more land at that time than to buy feed, so we were able to grow our business which underpinned us,” Hamish said.
“We still had our female breeding herd and it helped drive our business through that wretched period.”
The feedlot capacity allowed management of dry conditions by providing lactating females – whether cattle, goats or sheep – with appropriate rations.
Support from Rabobank proved crucial in offering flexibility to the business during trying periods.
Hamish credits the ability to grow their business to the appreciation of assets – land and water – to boost equity, as well as low interest loans for capital expansion.
“We don’t sell assets,” he said.
“We have had a lot of luck, compared to our parents’ time frames when asset value was flat – we have been in a purple patch in our area regarding the growth from rural assets and water.
“Government policies like water buybacks have also driven water values to a level we never dreamt of, so it has been a combination of factors (that have benefited us).”
The McIntyres are continually growing the business and evolving. They encourage staff training, skills development and career pathways for young managers, which they consider vital to staff retention.
Their three sons are all pursuing careers in agriculture.
Stirling recently completed an agribusiness degree and is working for a live export company in Sydney, while Finlay and Campbell are both studying ag science and hope to pursue agronomy and animal science pathways respectively.
“We feel it’s important for them to gain experience in the wider agricultural sector before integrating into the family business at a later date if that’s what they want to do,” Hamish said.
“That is why we diversified the business so there is room for all expertise.”
“My parents taught me that you shouldn’t just complain about things but get engaged and try to make a difference yourself,” he said.
