New Zealand Lowline Breeders Network

New Zealand Lowline Breeders Network Promoting Australian Lowlines in New Zealand. Breeder stories, cattle, breed information and selected Lowline content from around the world.

Australian Lowline Cattle In New Zealand

Common Name: LOWLINE, occasionally incorrectly called 'Lowline Angus'. Both Lowlines and modern Angus share a similar genetic heritage, descending from Aberdeen Angus genetics imported many years ago from Scotland. Both are now internationally recognised as separate breeds after decades of selection in different directions. It is not appropriate to connect

Lowlines to Angus by name. Australian Lowline or Lowline are the only two correct names to use when referring to these heritage cattle. Lowlines have always been required to be genetically tied to BOTH their parents through testing. This started with blood type matching, and as technology improved, moved to MiP DNA testing, which has now been superseded by SNP DNA testing. Verification of progeny to BOTH parents guarantees genetic purity. ALCA does not allow grading up to purebred status. If you are purchasing Lowlines it is advisable you check that they have been DNA verified as being such. You can do this by asking to see the DNA Proof, checking the ALCA database or contacting the ALCA registrar. The only way you can be certain that the animal you are buying is, in fact, a Lowline is if it has been DNA verified as such

In New Zealand, these moderate framed, well muscled beef cattle thrive in our environment. Lowline bulls produce moderate birth weight and identifiable polled calves from both Lowline and non Lowline cows. The calves are fast growing, feed efficient and finish earlier than other beef breeds. Lowlines enjoy multiple uses including easy calving sires, grass control, aesthetics, and beef production, both commercial and homegrown. This page is the online home of the North Island Lowline Promotion Group. We are one of the Promotion Groups active across New Zealand and Australia, governed by ALCA. For more information on Lowlines or membership enquiries, please contact the ALCA Office [email protected]

What’s in a name? Quite a lot, actually.One of the challenges our breed faces is the number of different names used to d...
01/09/2026

What’s in a name? Quite a lot, actually.

One of the challenges our breed faces is the number of different names used to describe Lowline cattle — Australian Lowline, Lowline, Lowline Angus, Angus Lowline and various combinations in between.

It might seem like a small distinction, but the name matters.
Australian Lowline is the registered breed name. “Lowline” is its accepted abbreviated name.

Registered Australian Lowlines belong to a closed herdbook, with documented pedigree and DNA parent verification tracing back to the Foundation Herd. Terms such as “Lowline Angus” are not the registered breed name and are used quite inconsistently in the wider cattle marketplace.
That doesn’t make an animal good or bad. But it does make it important to distinguish breed identity from a description — particularly when cattle are being bought, sold or promoted.
Julie Knight was one of the people who strongly advocated for getting the breed name right, and her original article explaining why has been retained as part of a new educational resource we have put together.

We’ve also added some background on the history of the breed, registration and DNA verification, colour, polled status, beef production and the distinction between pedigree and performance.
Pedigree tells us what an animal is. Performance tells us what it can do.

For anyone interested in the history and identity of Australian Lowline cattle, the full resource is here:
https://lowlinebeef.nz/lowline-facts/

Hopefully it is something breeders can share when the inevitable question comes up: “So what exactly is an Australian Lowline?”

Click below to find out

Australian Lowline Cattle — Breed Information, History & Identity Australian Lowline is a distinct registered cattle breed with a documented history, a closed herdbook and DNA-verified ancestry tracing back to the original Foundation Herd in Australia. Yet the name Lowline is now used widely — a...

30/08/2026

Hello everyone,

Issue 6 of The Long Black, NZLB’s latest newsletter, is now available.

Inside you’ll find news and updates from NZLB and ALCA, along with information for Lowline breeders and enthusiasts throughout New Zealand.

Thank you to everyone who contributed. We hope you enjoy the latest issue, and we always welcome your feedback, ideas and contributions for future newsletters.

Click on the newsletter below to read it.

29/08/2026
29/08/2026

Wanamara Sirius is the sire of Lowland Park Tassie and you can see where much of Tassie’s substance comes from. Sirius was a powerful, deep-bodied Australian Lowline bull with tremendous capacity, natural thickness and a strong masculine presence.

He carried plenty of muscle through the shoulder, loin and hindquarter while retaining the depth and volume we value in productive cattle. His influence through Tassie has been particularly important at Lowland Park, combining growth and substance with the structural quality that Tassie has gone on to reproduce consistently in his own progeny.

A bull whose influence is still being seen generations later.

23/08/2026
23/08/2026

Straws available for easy calving fast growing beefy polled calves.

23/08/2026

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