The expansion of the Bonnydale black Simmental stud into Queensland is proving to be a fruitful one for Western Australia’s Introvigne Grazing Co, with a top price more than double last year’s inaugural showing, at Friday’s sale at Roma.

Local cattleman Casey Wraight, Westmore, paid the top price of $26,000 for Bonnydale Proclamation R116, one of 24 young black Simmental bulls offered by the Queensland side of the operation, run by Jake Berghofer and Emma Patterson at Kingaroy.

Weighing 784kg, he’s the son of US sire WS Proclamation E202, a bull Bonnydale has used extensively in its AI program, and Bonnydale Josie N72, which Mike Introvigne said they were impressed with.

“She’s the daughter of one of the best bulls we’ve bred, Bonnydale Augustus L84, and I think Casey will be very impressed with the progeny from his purchases,” he said.

The top bull had P8 and rib fat scans of 13 and 12mm, an eye muscle area of 134 square centimetres, intramuscular fat of 5.3 per cent, and a scrotal circumference of 40cm.

Mr Wraight successfully purchased another of the black Simmentals in the catalogue for $7000, saying that while it was the first time he’d tried the breed, he was chasing bone structure to put weight into his weaners.

“Tim Emery put some data in front of me that all stacked up so using Breedplan, these bulls stood out from the get-go,” he said. “We usually use Charolais or Angus bulls over predominantly Brahman cows, and we think this is a good-bodied bull.”

A total of 52 bulls were sold under the hammer for a 93 per cent clearance and a $9308 average.

At the inaugrual sale last year, prices topped at $10,000 or an average of $5892, for a 75pc clearance.

Mr Introvigne said Friday’s sale had been more than positive.

“People came last year and could see what they were going to get – we had a lot of enquiry and people came back,” he said.

“We offered 10 more bulls this year and were pleased with how both the Simangus and Superblacks presented in the ring, and were received.

“We were worried that the Superblack idea (black Simmentals with bos Indicus content) wasn’t going to work for northern parts but this has given us confidence.”

The 23 black Simmentals offered were sold for an average of $9826, while the 13 Simangus bulls brought an average $9538, and the 16 Superblack bulls averaged $9308.

The top price paid for a Simangus bull was $14,000, paid by Foyleview Pastoral, Mitchell, while Golden Grazing, Yuleba paid the top price of $13,000 for a Superblack bull.

It’s the first time Adrian and JJ Lamb, Cushnie, Taroom have bought Superblacks bulls but they were the sale’s volume buyers, taking a mix of them and black Simmentals for an average price of $7714.

Mr Lamb said he thought they had more frame and bone than the Angus bulls they were used to purchasing.

Golden Grazing and Foyleview Pastoral each bought five bulls while Graham and Robyn Harland, Warndoo, Injune loaded three new prospective sires on the truck home.

They were already familiar with black Simmentals, having purchased two bulls at a sale in Rockhampton a few years ago, and had been buying Bonnydale bulls online for the past three years, which they’ve been putting over a Santa Gertrudis cow herd.

Bulls were bought by producers as far west as Charleville and Alpha, north to Anakie, Mundubbera and Baralaba, and east as far as Chinchilla and Nobby

BY SALLY GALL FOR QLD COUNTRY LIFE (FULL ARTICLE)