After breeding champion French Limousin beef cattle at Yatte Yattah for 26 years, Max and his wife Val have decided to retire and will auction more than 85 animals on October 27.

At 77 years of age, Max said cattle breeding was getting harder each day.

“It’s really physical work and there comes a time when you realise you can’t keep doing it forever,” he said.

While he admits he’ll miss his cows, Max said he’s looking forward to growing roses and going fishing instead.

“I’ve got more than 50 types of roses growing and I hope to start showing them,” he said.

“You won’t keep me away from the shows – it’s something that runs in the family”.

Max has exhibited cattle in 25 of the past 26 Sydney Royal Easter Shows – taking home dozens of ribbons.

When the couple retired from teaching in 1984 and bought their property north of Milton, Max said he wanted to breed show animals because it was something his family had always done.

“At the time Herefords were the king of beef cattle, but I couldn’t afford them, so I looked at some of the European breeds that were relatively new to Australia,” he said.

The Willow Park Limousin stud is regarded as one of the country’s finest, with bulls fetching up to $12,000 at past auctions.

Max said he is expecting a “good turn-out” at the October 27 sale, with enquiries from interstate and as far as Darwin.

The auction will take place at 1.30pm at the Milton Showground, with a led parade from 11.30am.

Max and Val have no short term plans to sell their 200-acre property and are considering leasing the paddocks until such time as they are ready to sell.