LIFE MEMBERSHIP FOR GEORGE JACOBS
(with thanks to ABBA Brahman News June 2003)

 

The principal of Mogul stud — NSW’s longest established Brahman stud — has been honoured with Life Membership of the Australian Brahman Breeders’ Association.

 

Dr George Jacobs was presented with Life Membership in April at a dinner at the Sydney Showgrounds to commemorate the breed’s 40th anniversary of exhibiting at the Royal Easter Show.

 

George, who is a Sydney-based medical practitioner specialising in psychiatry and who also has a PhD in Agriculture from Sydney University, has been operating Mogul stud since 1968.  The stud was established in 1959 at Riverstone, near Sydney, by George’s step-father Albert Scheinberg and was registered as Brahmin Society Pty Ltd before being renamed Mogul stud in 1968.  After being relocated to different venues near Sydney, Mogul moved to its current home, 4860 hectare Clarence Peak, near Maclean, NSW, in 1980.

 

George’s love of Brahman cattle started early and as a 14-year-old he led the first NSW-bred Brahman bull at the 1964 Royal Easter Show.  He also paraded the first NSW-bred champion in Sydney, AS Princess Julie-Ann, in 1966.

 

Mogul was founded on Cherokee, Grampians and Tyagarah genetics.  In the 1980s Yenda, Helensvale, Apis Creek, Savannah and new Cherokee sires were introduced and extensive artificial insemination and embryo transfer (ET) programs were commenced.  In 1981 Mogul was the first Brahman stud in Australia to carry out an ET program.  The semen used in that program was from Sir Mogul Arauto C, an Indu-Gyr bull Mogul imported in 1975 — the first new genetics imported to Australia in 20 years.  The five bulls produced from that flush sold for $10,000 average — big money for the1980s.  Another significant import, in 1988, was that of the pure Brazilian Gyr bull Idioma POI Americana, who made a large impact on Mogul’s red herd.  The stud is currently using the grey sires Yenda Image, Glengarry Reno, Jay-W Sir Bruce and semen from JDH Karu Manso 800 (US).  Its red sires include Fairy Springs Jo Jo, Palmvale Napoleon and Mogul Kama (by HK Millionaire 167/2). 

 

Glen Pfeffer, Mogul stud manager since 1984, said 200 stud females were mated annually, plus 150 head of commercial Brahman cross breeders, used to produce weaners.  Mogul’s illustrious show highlights include 81 Royal Show championships at Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Toowoomba. 

 

Mogul has been the most successful exhibitor at Sydney, collecting more than 70 championships at 34 shows.  In 1971 the stud collected three grand championships — at Sydney, Melbourne and the 25th anniversary feature show in Brisbane — with three different females.  In 1984 Mogul showed both grand champions in Sydney, winning all four junior and senior championships.  In 1983 and 1994 the stud showed three out of four champions in Sydney and paraded both grand champions in 2000.  It is also the only Brahman stud to win a championship in Sydney’s RAS steer and carcase show, in 1971. 

 

In the sale arena, Mogul holds the record for selling the highest priced Australian bred Brahman bull through Grafton Saleyard, $9500 Mogul Arauto Barnum, sold in 1992.  The stud has sold bulls throughout Australia (to a top of $19,500) and has exported cattle to New Zealand, South Korea and New Caledonia.  Mogul is a keen advocate of performance testing and has been a member of Brahman Group BREEDPLAN for 14 years.  Its steers placed first and second in the yield section of the 1999 Australian National Field Days Grassfed Steer Competition and won ribbons in the Japanese ox lot-fed carcase section of the 1999 and 2000 Sydney Shows. 

 

George has also been an active ABBA member, being a committee member and office bearer of the NSW Branch of the ABBA for 25 years from 1970 and a co-opted councillor from 1980 to 1988.  He has judged Brahmans for more than 25 years, adjudicating at numerous events including feature shows at Ipswich, Toowoomba and Cloncurry and the 250-head Rockhampton Show in 1984.  Mr Pfeffer said George was a man dedicated to his cattle. “He’s a very easy going man who will willingly help anybody get established.”