Purebred Brahman commercial breeders, the Scott family, Ruan Grazing, Clermont, are looking forward to attending the Rockhampton Brahman Week Sale (RBWS) this year, after making a big splash there in 2017.
The Brahman business is a family affair for the Scotts as patriarchs Owen and Lee, work with their son Clay and his wife Kirstie on Ruan, while their daughter Emma Sewell and her husband Brenton are situated on nearby Mallawa.
The two properties are used to finish their cattle, while a third property, Glen Eva, at Mt Coolon, is used as their primary breeding block.
Clay Scott said they’ve always primarily used Brahmans, with the appeal of the breed lying in their ease of handling, hardiness, and their adaptability for sale into a wide variety of markets.
“Lately, we’ve been selling steers at 350-400kg into the export market, while fat steers and cull heifers are still being sold to Borthwicks in Mackay,” he said.
The Scotts demonstrated their investment in the Brahman breed at the RBWS last year when they bought the immaculate grey bull Carinya Hazelwood for a sale high bid of $115,000.
“Every year our aim is to produce a better overall animal, so we’re always looking for standout bulls which can improve our herd.
“We’re very much in love with Hazelwood, it was his temperament and conformation that stood out to us.
“His first calves are just hitting the floor now, so we’re excited to see how they develop.”
Clay said they’ve bought from Carinya heavily in the past at the RBWS, and have always been happy with the consistency of the Kirks’ bulls, “they bring a good product to the sale”.
He said the family has been attending the RBWS since he can remember.
“The sheer volume of the bulls available, combined with the huge diversity of vendors offering drafts, make it a great sale to attend.”
Currently, the family are running a 5000-head herd across their combined 36,422ha of country.
“It’s been pretty dry around here, we had our last rain in March when we got two or three inches.
“We’re supplement feeding with dry lick and hay at Glen Eva, though luckily the situation isn’t as grim on the finishing blocks, but some rain soon definitely wouldn’t hurt.”
Recently, the family have gotten a stud operation going, with the plan being to start selling unregistered and registered bulls from the paddock in a year or two.
“We’ve always bred bulls internally for commercial use, and we now believe we have high enough quality sires that we can start producing prospects which will help enhance other commercial producers operations across the state.”
