Family farming.
Quality stock
since 1861.
Registered Beef Shorthorns. We breed easy-doing, fertile cattle with medium frames that hold their condition when the veld is poor.
What we breed for
Productivity
Early maturing weaners, and steers that finish on veld.
Virility
Bulls that work, settling their cows in a 65 day season.
Hybrid Vigour
Shorthorns cross well with almost any breed.
Mothering Ability
Good milk and strong maternal instinct.
Fertility
Cows that calve every year and stay in the herd for a long time.
Duncraggan bulls for sale
We sell bulls at three or older as proven sires: performance tested, fertility tested and DNA parentage verified.
Details coming soon
Our next line-up of sale bulls will be announced here. To hear first, subscribe to the newsletter or give Allistair a call.
See our 2024 sale bulls and past sale results.
Read the original bulls for sale notice
Duncraggan Bulls for sale:
Duncraggan Diplomat 611 (Red)
Phase C Silver Merit
This 2022 son of D. Swallowtail 312, by D. Zuckerberg 465, a Crooked Post Stockman 4Z son, has tremendous length with a good hindquarter shape and slick hair cover. We have used him in the herd, Autumn 2024 breeding season.
Duncraggan Deadeye Dick 618 (Roan)
Phase C Bronze Merit
This 2022 son of D. Sweet Briar 344, by D. Auld Reekie 496, is an early maturing bull that keeps his condition in all conditions. We currently have a maternal half-brother as our senior herd sire. Unfortunately, his dam succumbed to redwater in March 2024 and we are bottle-feeding her heifer calf by Crooked Post Stockman 4Z this winter.
These two bulls are a true representation of our quest to breed easy-doing, fertile cattle, with medium frames, that hold condition when nutrition is compromised.
Both bulls are 50k SNP tested Myostatin free.
A glance at their information in the 3-Generation pedigrees will cement your decision that they are from fertile cows!
Our philosophy of only keeping bulls that we would potentially use ourselves has ensured that we, ultimately, only keep bulls that conform to all our values as per our ‘About Us’ page on our website.
Further information will be available on sale day, or call Allistair on 0781940037
“We only keep bulls that we would use ourselves.”
We select on performance, conformation and soundness, and we cull hard.
Genetics that rank
Every registered Beef Shorthorn in South Africa is evaluated by SA Stud Book. On the August 2026 figures, ours lead the breed.
of the top 50 live Beef Shorthorns in South Africa on Cow Value were bred by us.
Our Duncraggan Lancaster 463 and Primeston Wildeyes 23-01 share first place in the breed on Cow Value.
joint leaders in the breed on Fertility Value are our cows.
ARC national Beef Shorthorn awards since 2018, for our bulls on test and our elite cows.
Source: SA Stud Book Logix evaluation, August 2026, via SABeefBulls; ARC Beef Bulletins 2018, 2020 and 2025.
Blackstone Beef, Duncraggan & Primeston
Blackstone Beef
Our commercial beef operation, run across the whole beef producer chain.
Duncraggan Beef Shorthorns
A young registered herd, founded on some of the best South African Shorthorn lines.
Primeston Stud
The oldest registered Shorthorn herd in South Africa, founded in 1861. The KBS herd mark lives on here.
What you see on paper, you get in the flesh
Performance tested
Performance tested with S.A. Studbook, with solid figures to show for it.
Health & fertility tested
Fertility tested, clean of TB and CA, and sheath washed for Vibrio and Trichomonas if used.
DNA parentage verified
Every bull’s parentage is confirmed by DNA testing.
Awards and sales
A Platinum cow for Primeston, and a Logix Silver for Duncraggan
Primeston BLK 140257 is a 2025 National Elite Platinum Beef Cow, and Duncraggan earned a Silver Logix Elite Award.
Elite awards for 2023 and 2024
Silver for the Blackstone Beef Project in 2023, and Elite Cow awards for Primeston BLK 140257 and Duncraggan BLK 150317 in 2024.
Diplomat 611 and BLK 13 0229: two more ARC national awards
Diplomat 611 won the Beef Shorthorn Special Performance Test Class and BLK 13 0229 was Best Elite Cow at the 2024 ARC awards.
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