Initially based in the Mount Barker area, the stud began in the mid-eighties with foundation females from Strathtay(Narrogin) and Moojepin (Katanning) Angus studs. Participation in the Knutsford Grass Fed Bull Trials at Kojonup for many years was usually with two bulls to ensure access to Angus Group Breedplan figures. The sale at the end of each trial gave Ardcairnie the opportunity to bring its bulls to a wider audience - most of Ardcairnie's surplus stock and the finished feeder cattle were usually sold direct so the herd did not have a high saleyard profile.  And still doesn't - all culls, for whatever reason, usually go to the abattoir or very rarely to live export. When the trial moved to Narrogin, Ardcairnie decided not to continue participating, as we felt EBV's offered a better perspective on performance. Ardcairnie stud and commercial females are all registered with the Angus Society of Australia in the Herd Book Register (HBR), a very few in the Angus Performance Register (APR) and the commercial cattle in the Angus Commercial Register (ACR).

Studmaster Jim McGregor comes from a family with a long background in breeding Aberdeen Angus cattle in the home of the breed, Scotland. His late father, James, established the well respected Murdochcairnie Aberdeen Angus stud in Fife in the 1940's; his brother William founded his Newcairnie stud on the neighbouring farm in the 1970's and that stud is now run by his daughter Angela. Like Newcairnie, the Ardcairnie herd is run on commercial lines to ensure productive, longliving and sound cattle.

The stud herd provides bulls for the commercial herd; over the years bulls for the stud herd have been purchased from Blackrock, Koojan Hills, Strathtay and Teranga Angus Studs, but in recent years the diversification in the stud herd bloodlines has come mainly from using AI sires, mostly from the USA, which would have the largest gene pool of Angus in the world, as well as some from New Zealand. Australian semen from bulls in the Angus Society Young Sire Program has also been used in 2005, 2006, and 2007 (for 2006, 2007 and 2008 calvings) and in the 2010 mating program 5 straws of a Scottish bull (two heifer and one bull calves are currently in the 2011 born mobs). We have also bought two bulls from each of Te Mania Angus in Victoria and Koojan Hills Angus in WA in 2006 and 2008. In the 2011 AI programme, semen from an English bull was used.

Ardcairnie has been Cattlecare accredited since September 2002 and MSA accredited since 2001. NLIS tags are now compulsory in WA so all the cattle leaving Maybenup have NLIS tags.

A browse through past sale catalogues (apart from 2003 and 2006 which we can't find at the moment!) brought to light some interesting bits and pieces.
Ardcairnie's first on-property sale was in 1999 when we held an open day on Tuesday 2nd February and invited people to look at the 27 bulls catalogued. In 2000, still on the Tuesday before the first Friday in February (Tuesday 1st February) we offered the pick of PTIC commercial heifers from the 80 or so 1998 drop as well as 30 rising two year old bulls. And we changed the name to Field Day/Selection Day! 2001 saw us include the prices of the bulls in our catalogue of 28 sale bulls on Tuesday 30th January. And we sold one after the sale for his listed price of $8000. In 2002, on 29th January, we offered 32 bulls as well as 65 PTIC commercial heifers.
On 3rd February 2004, there were 40 bulls, 60 PTIC heifers and 40PTIC cows and we mentioned our unique selling system still in use today.
The 2005 catalogue listed 31 HBR bulls, 10 APR bulls, 50 PTIC heifers, and 50 PTIC cows for Tuesday 1st February. And we renamed the day Field Day/Sale Day.

In 2006, although we can't find the catalogue at the moment, the highlight was our first sale to inter-state, when Lew Smit bid successfully for Ardcairnie Z57 on behalf of Te Mania Angus in Victoria, for what still is our highest price of $9100. (Z57 is now named Ardcairnie Midland Z57 after his sire, BR Midland.)

By 2007, we had decided to sell surplus PTIC females in November rather than hold them over for the sale, so had only bulls on offer on 30th January - 55 HBR and 2 APR. And we called the day "Sale Day".
On 29th January 2008, there were 62 bulls - all HBR except one APR, and Mark James, manager for Irongate Nominees at Albany, paid our second highest ever price of $8200 for Ardcairnie B142.
Having mentioned high prices, they are not actually something we are concerned about - it remains our wish to offer good bulls at reasonable prices with lots of choice so that buyers go home with a bull they want. As all our bulls are priced in the catalogue, it's competition that drives up prices - nice for us, if not for underbidders!

In 2009, we catalogued 62, penned up 59 and sold 28.

For the 2010 sale, we catalogued 52 bulls, penned up 48 on the day and sold 19.

In 2011 we penned 42 on sale day, sold 29 to 18 different buyers including three new clients, one of which was from South Australia, our second interstate sale.

Our first international sale was on Thursday 18th February 2010 when a group of Russian farmers and feedlotters visited Maybenup with Elders Kojonup and Wellard Exporters to look at our sale bulls. The delegation purchased 14 bulls for export to Russia. This has been an exciting new venture for us and we hope to follow their progress in their new homes. And in 2011, we sold one for export to Russia.