Condamine's Justin Boshammer takes on role as new Brangus society president

Western Downs-based breeder Justin Boshammer has been named the new president of the Australian Brangus Cattle Association.

Mr Boshammer, 43, who co-owns and operates JK Cattle Co with his wife, Kate, in southern Queensland, brings extensive experience to the role, having been a member of the ABCA and involved in Brangus cattle breeding since 2010.

His family has deep roots in the Australian cattle industry.

His father, Roger Boshammer, is the principal of Glenoch Angus, while his late great uncle, Jack Atkin, ran Sandon Angus near Chinchilla.

Currently, Justin and Kate manage 780 seedstock females across 6000 hectares of land near Condamine and Dulacca.

Their operation includes a commercial breeding herd, with progeny taken through to feeder weights, as well as a seedstock division that breeds registered Angus, Brangus, Ultrablack, and Wagyu cattle.

In addition to his new role as ABCA president, Mr Boshammer has served in various industry positions, including on the board of the Australian Beef Research Institute, the AgForce cattle board, and the North Australian Beef Research committee. He has also held roles within the Cattle Council of Australia.

Speaking to Queensland Country Life, Mr Boshammer outlined his key focus areas for the Brangus and Ultrablack breeds.

"We will continue to be commercially relevant to the beef supply chain through strategies that increase demand from customers along the supply chain," Mr Boshammer said.

"There are some wonderful attributes already entrenched within the breed through a very diverse genetic pool suited to any country, and we will continue to validate and identify the genetics that are efficient from birth to sale weight, are fertile, convert well, and are of high eating quality whether grass-finished or grain-finished.

"We have great diversity within the board of directors to be progressive but not lose sight of what has already been achieved."

Mr Boshammer takes over the leadership from Brad Saunders of Pheasant Creek Brangus, Wowan, who concluded a successful four-year tenure at the helm.

Reflecting on his time as president, Mr Saunders shares a deep sense of accomplishment but also acknowledges the hard work that went into building something lasting for the Brangus breed.

"It's been a very hectic four years," he said.

"The biggest thing we did when I first started was leave the Australian Beef Research Institute and create our own independent office.

"That was a very busy time for about 12 months. We were too big to be with the ABRI."

Mr Saunders remembers the challenges of setting up the new office and overseeing the administrative transition.

"It was a very big process, but we had a really good CEO at the start, Tessa Pearson," he said.

"Then, as we grew, we had Nathan come on as our new CEO, and he's done an excellent job in continuing that success."

Another defining moment during his presidency was the inclusion of Ultrablacks into the association.

Mr Saunders praised Justin's leadership qualities.

"He brings a lot of experience to the role. He's younger, has a fresh approach, and thinks outside the box. He's forward-thinking, and that's exactly what we need in the industry," he said.

Looking ahead, Mr Saunders is optimistic about the breed's future.

"I'm still on the board for another year as a director," he said.

"The breed is adopting a lot of new technologies, like DNA, genomics, and BreedPlan. But it's very important moving forward that we don't lose sight of what Brangus is.

"That's an easy thing to do, but Brangus is an easy-doing, low-input animal that thrives on grass. If we stick to that, we've got a big future ahead."

The Australian Brangus Cattle Association welcomed three newly elected federal directors Tim Flynn, Kent Ward and Brad Hanson along with re-elected federal director Lindsay Barlow in October to join Zone Directors Brad Saunders, Justin Boshammer, Juanita Trustum and Michael Bush on the ABCA board.

ABCA CEO Nathan Sullivan acknowledged the outgoing board members for their contribution to the breed.

"We acknowledge outgoing Federal Directors Sue Fawcett, Amanda Salisbury and Jack Wright for their contributions," he said.

"After four years as President of the Australian Brangus Cattle Association Brad Saunders has stepped back from the role with Justin Boshammer elected President in October.

"Thanks to the outgoing President Brad Saunders and to outgoing Vice President Amanda Salisbury for their commitment to their roles and the Board."