The Williamson Family has been breeding Shorthorns in Australia since the late 1800’s. Geoff’s great grandfather bred Shorthorns at ‘Caskieben’, near Aberdeen in Scotland, in the 1850’s. In 1975 the Poll Shorthorn stud started with the introduction of two Kelso bulls. During the 1980’s, several U.S. bred sires were used which improved both the growth and muscling of the cattle. Recently two Broughton Park bulls have been used which have further enhanced the growth and performance of the herd. These have been followed by Glen Huon, Eldervale and Narralda sires as well as several home bred outcross bulls.  Most of the top cows are joined using AI before going to the bulls and in the last couple of years, bulls such as Broughton Park Senator Y41, Marellan Eclectic, Bundaleer United Chief and Yankee Cruiser have been used for this purpose.

The Caskieben Shorthorn cattle are run in conjunction with a cropping and irrigated lucerne enterprise on a 2000 acre property at Carisbrook, in the Central Goldfields region of Victoria. The property consists of volcanic soils and alluvial river flats and generally enjoys a 20 inch average annual rainfall.

Caskieben currently joins approximately 100-110 registered cows each year, focusing on breeding easy care, productive cattle for the commercial cattleman. The stud aims to continuously improve the quality and performance of the cattle through the extensive use of Shorthorn Group Breedplan. Caskieben is currently accredited MN2 under the National Johnes Program.