livestock & horticulture
Introduction of Hybrid Vigour
The McConnel family maintained a predominately Hereford herd until the 1980s, when fifth-generation, the late Christopher McConnel, introduced hybrid vigour to mitigate increased climate variables into Cressbrook’s commercial herd through the introduction of Droughtmaster, Brangus, and Ultra Black cattle, following his exposure to crossbreeding whilst working as a stockman for AACo in the 1970s. In 2010, Christopher became the first farmer in Australia to instal dual-axis solar trackers designed to co-exist with cattle grazing.
Expansion to Boxed Beef
Combining knowledge from generations past with her experiences in law, business, and agroecology, sixth-generation Caitlin McConnel, currently runs a self-replacing commercial herd consisting of Droughtmaster, Brangus, Ultra Black & Charolais; maintaining a focus on soil health, nutrient density, and climate resilience. In 2025, Caitlin expanded operations at Cressbrook to include the sale of boxed beef directly to consumers.
Dual-Purpose Poultry
In recent years, Caitlin has started running a flock of purebred New Hampshire, Brown Leghorn, Light Sussex, Rhode Island Red & Australorp chickens as pastured layers. Using rotational grazing techniques similar to those used for beef cattle, the layers are fully pasture-raised outdoors with access to solar-powered mobile caravans for shelter, and a natural mixed feed supplement comprising cut lucerne and various wholegrains.
In 2025, Caitlin's mother Susan commenced breeding purebred dual-purpose heritage breed chickens for introduction to the pastured layer flock; with a view to fattening roosters for sale as table birds in due course.
Apiculture
In 2024, Caitlin commenced raw honey & bi-product extraction from honeybee hives at Cressbrook under the guidance of long-time family friend and now colleague, Wes Ostrofski.
Caitlin currently manages five honeybee hives across diverse paddocks at Cressbrook to support long-term biodiversity of all flora and fauna. Honey is extracted by hand using traditional smoking methods, with frames then cold-spun in a barrel. The raw honey is only strained once before being hand-bottled in single hive batches to ensure that products maintain their distinct seasonal flavour characteristics, which vary throughout the season.