Initially based in the Mount Barker area, the stud began in the mid-eighties with foundation females from Strathtay and Moojepin Angus studs at Narrogin and Katanning. 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. 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 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. 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 and 2006 (for 2006 and 2007 calvings).

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.