Quarterway Angus is gearing up to sell 60 Angus bulls this autumn, featuring their tried-and-true genetics and some impressive outcross sires.
Several bloodlines will feature in this year’s annual offering, and principal Trevor Hall is particularly impressed with the New Zealand sires.
‘We’ve had several trips to NZ over the years and have purchased semen shares in bulls – certain studs in NZ have a lot to offer the Australian industry and can mix and match well with both Australian and American bulls,” Mr Hall said.
“They are very sound structured, very easy-doing on grass and the conditions where they have to graze, and work are tough – there is a lot of longevity in NZ because they have to work hard to survive in hills and high rainfall”.
“They tend to have been overlooked over the last few decades because of the emphasis put on high-figured trendy sires, but I think they can definitely have a positive influence on the breed.”
With only a handful of NZ bulls available from studs in Australia, sons of Kaharau Classman 444 will be a feature at the Quarterway sale, as will bulls by NZ record breaking sire, Turiroa Ragnor who sold for $104,000 in the 2020 season.
“Kaharau is up there with one of the best studs in NZ, and we’ve got a semen share in Turiroa Ragnor, he has a lot to offer too,” Mr Hall said.
Quarterway bred and other local bulls will feature in the annual auction as well, with the $32,000 Texas Horsepower N229 being used as a semen sire, and Texas Reality P224’s progeny being the youngest in the sale.
“Anyone looking for an outcross, those bulls will be there, plus there’s the two lines of Texas Angus bulls, which are renowned for their carcase quality,” Mr Hall said.
“The sons of Horsepower are the top line bulls; they are really high performing.”
Horsepower is in the top 10% of the breed for both fat and docility, which plays right into the Quarterway breeding objectives.
“Temperament is key and these bulls are quiet,” Mr Hall said.
“And they have had an extremely hard winter – it was the wettest winter I’ve experienced in 40 plus years – and they have come out of it with flying colours, which is a testament to their breeding.
The Quarterway stud program has grown to 500 females, allowing for a strict selection policy – every cow has ‘get in calf’ and raise it to remain.
Genetic lines also continue to be trialled over the operations 800-cow strong commercial herd, which Mr Hall describes as the perfect “testing ground”.
“We put a lot of emphasis on bulls being structurally correct, sound footed, quiet, thick, well-muscled, and easy doing off grass,” he added,
“And we breed for longevity in our bulls & female herd”.
In 2022, Quarterway’s autumn sale cleared 61 bulls to a top of $14,000 and averaged $8862.
Mr Hall said while the market has fallen in recent months, the outlook was still good for the industry.
“Cattle prices have dropped a bit which is never good, but I think it will sort itself out when the cow kill in the US slows down and that glut is out of the system – which is happening now,” he said.
“Sentiment is still positive, and while it is going through a lower spot, when it comes back out the other side everyone will be happy.
“If you’ve got cows you’ve got to have bulls and people want high quality genetics in their herds.”
The annual sale on Friday March 17 will be held at the Quarterway bull selling centre “Lyndhurst”, via Waterhouse, Tasmania.
The 18- to 21-month-old sires will be semen tested, pestivirus free, vaccinated and muscle scanned.
The sale will kick off at 1pm and be integrated with AuctionsPlus.
As an added bonus, you don’t have to worry about getting your purchases home, with free delivery across Tasmania, King Island, Flinders Island and to Melbourne, Victoria.
