It’s all in a name

It has been suggested by a few breeders of Australian Lowline cattle that the name ‘Lowline’ should be changed, as has been done in the United States of America and is currently being debated in Canada.

By changing the name of a breed, you lose the identity that has been established over years of promotion and marketing by dedicated members of our Association. A name change would lead to confusion within the membership and among the public, as has happened with a few other cattle breeds that have changed their name over recent years.

Anyone suggesting a name change for the breed reflects a lack of breed knowledge, history and understanding of the registered breed, Australian Lowline, which has been allocated the International Breed Code of AL.

AUSTRALIAN LOWLINE is the breed of cattle we all have and hopefully you are as passionate about them as I am.

But what is a breed?

The Oxford Dictionary says it is “a stock of animals or plants within a species having a distinctive appearance and typically having been developed by deliberate selection”.

How very apt is that definition when you consider the history of the Australian Lowline breed.

The name ‘Lowline’ is specific to the reasons behind the establishment of the breed in Australia.

Our breed descends from animals selected and developed in a breeding group called Low Line during trials which began in 1974. These trials based at the Agricultural Experimental Station in Trangie, New South Wales were collectively named ‘Implications of Selection for Growth – Trangie Cattle Project’ and were commissioned by the Australian Meat and Livestock Research Development Corporation. Data was compared between three individual groups of Angus animals over a 15-year period – the High Line, Control Line and Low Line groups.

The Foundation animals in our ALCA Herd Book trace back to those cattle in the Low Line group and indeed, can be traced further back in the Angus Herd Book to the original Aberdeen Angus imported to Australia in 1929.

Remember that by registering your cattle, you are preserving those pure genetics in a Herd Book that is unsurpassed by any other country breeding these genetics, under whatever name they are calling them.  The ALCA Herd Book is the Foundation for the breed.

The ALCA Trademark

The Australian Lowline Cattle Association trademark of the three different sized bulls denotes the three trial groups, with the smallest representing the Lowlines.

The design was used for the final report for the Trangie trials and permission was given to Ian Pullar, the founding ALCA President, for the new Association to use as their logo. With the word ’LOWLINE’ added underneath the three silhouetted bulls standing on grass, this design was registered as the Trademark Logo for the Australian Lowline Cattle Association in 1999.

This unique logo represents the history of the breed and is widely recognised as the identity of Australian Lowlines. Maintaining a standard recognisable logo is one of the solid foundations of an Association over time.

The Lowline Logo is for the exclusive use of ALCA members for their own breed promotion for the duration of their membership. However, this privilege ceases when the membership is discontinued.

As a registered trademark, the Lowline Logo may be used provided there is no alteration to the original design, including the font, and the conditions for use is spelt out in the ALCA Constitution. The Lowline Logo is legally owned by the Association so misrepresentation or misuse of the logo can be contested by ALCA.

Why is using the correct breed name so important?

Simply, it is the only way to build breed awareness and marketplace recognition. Using the correct name links the animal with those traits and breed standard by which the breed is known. The Australian Lowline owners are responsible for the information the public receives about the cattle breed.

Australian Lowline is the breed name given to these cattle by the men who recognised the potential of the animals and in a way is a nod to those Trangie researchers and to the heritage and history of the breed. It is the name which represents all the amazing breed attributes, traits and genetic purity that we have grown to love in our cattle.

Australian Lowlines are descendants of the Aberdeen Angus cattle of yesteryear. They are very different to the modern Angus and exhibit none of the inherited genetic problems, nor the fertility, size and calving issues. The genotype & phenotype of modern Angus are very different from that of the Australian Lowline.

By using the incorrect breed name, such as ‘Lowline Angus’, you the breeder, are telling the marketplace that these cattle are not pure but are in fact a crossbreed (Lowline x Angus). You have just undermined the genetic purity, breed traits and advantages that you try so hard to promote. You have also denied their distinctive heritage and ancestry and inflicted maximum damage on the valuable registered counterparts, where the value is in the pure genetic lineage.

The fact that our Lowline cattle are DNA typed and Parent verified before registration and having a closed Herd Book where no unverified animals can be added, has resulted in a line of pure Aberdeen Angus cattle now named ‘Australian Lowline’. They can be traced back to the origins of the breed in Canada and Scotland – a rare fact in the cattle world of breed improvement by ‘breeding up’ and ‘genetic crossbreeding’. Very few breeds today can trace their heritage through a closed Herd Book back to their origins.

Using the correct name ensures more people will recognise this breed as AUSTRALIAN LOWLINE, or LOWLINE when abbreviated. ‘Australian Lowline’ and ‘Lowline’ are both official names for the breed we treasure and are in fact the only names that should be used.

Remember the reasons you chose to become involved with this unique beef breed and be proud of their heritage and history and do them justice by using the correct name – AUSTRALIAN LOWLINE.

Further historical and general information about Australian Lowlines can be found in the commemorative Australian Lowline Book available through the Lowline Shop. www.lowlineshop.com

Julie Knight

Wanamara Farm, Victoria AUSTRALIA

Past ALCA President and Life Member