OUR STORY

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You might say dairy farming runs in the blood for the Hamilton family.

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Graeme Hamilton's family migrated from Scotland as free settlers to the fledgling colony of South Australia in 1842, and purchased their first farm land in 1860 at Yahl, South Australia, which is still owned by us, and used as a heifer rearing and cropping block.  The main farm where the herd is milked was purchased in 1973, with further land purchased in various stages in the years since, now totalling about 265 hectares (650 acres), plus further leased blocks.

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We know from family stories that milking cows and making cheese has been a constant thread in the family skill set stemming from the Scottish branch of the family.  Graeme Hamilton knew from when he was tiny boy that he was going to be a dairy farmer, and only suffered going to school so he could be educated with the skills he needed to be that farmer!

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The Hamilton family first began breeding red dairy cows in 1964, and their attention was grabbed by the outstanding results.  There was no turning back from red genetics from there, and they were among the second wave of Australian red cow breeders to incorporate Scandinavian genetics into the herd breeding plan during the late 1980's.

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During Graeme's formative years he sought out wise people to learn breeding strategies and objectives. The ability to remember complex cattle pedigrees and production data, combined with strong skills in breeding selections makes Graeme an outstanding red dairy cow breeder in his generation.

 

Hamilton's Run currently milks up to 500 registered Australian Red Dairy Breed cows each year. Our cows are never housed given our generally mild climate, and they graze fresh pasture every day of the year.  Our most valuable cows are the ones we call "invisible cows" - cows which simply get on with the job of being fertile and excellent milk producers without creating a fuss.

 

The farm operation is managed by Graeme Hamilton, with farm administration and online promotion managed by Graeme's wife Michele Hamilton.  Graeme and Michele's adult son Craig 'Hagrid' Hamilton has returned to the family farm business after university, and a career as a Land Surveyor.

 

Michele Hamilton is an avid photographer, and has her own small photography business which has a strong travel and rural focus.  Almost all of the photography presented about the Hamilton's Run enterprise will be via Michele's connection with a camera under the name Shutterbytes by Michele Hamilton - click here for her Facebook page.  You can also see a social media box at the bottom right of this page linked to her Twitter account ShutterbytesMH