Belmont Red bulls from most northern stud go under the hammer
This is branded content for Wahroonga Belmont Reds.
Robert Sherry is quietly confident that the line up of 31 rising two-year-old Belmont Red bulls he's selected for the upcoming Belmont Australia sale are going to again impress buyers.
"I'm really proud of what we've been able to achieve - I know the product is right," said Mr Sherry who, with wife Jane, owns and operates their Queensland cattle-breeding business Wahroonga Belmont Reds.
"They're moderate-framed bulls and they've got a lot of flesh on them and that's the kind of product I want to breed.
"What's really impressing me the most is that they are such an even line - an even line of good functional bulls with some very good figures. We're really happy with the way they've come up, particularly because of how dry it's been."
Located at Clarke Creek, in the heart of Queensland cattle country between Mackay and Rockhampton, and the only Belmont Red breeder north of the Tropic of Capricornia, Wahroonga Belmont Reds will be one of three of the country's leading breeders of the distinctive cattle at the fifth annual Belmont Australia sale at CQLX Gracemere on September 6.
Joining the Sherrys for the sale are other highly regarded breed vendors, Seifert Belmont Reds and Greenhills Belmont Reds. Altogether there will be 38 carefully selected bulls and heifers on the card.
Wahroonga Belmont Reds has been on a path of continuous genetic improvement since the Sherrys officially started the bull breeding business in 2016 having purchased a line of Belmont Red cows dispersed from the CSIRO's breeding program. The Sherrys later jumped at the opportunity to purchase the Toowoomba-based Corymbia stud of purebred Belmont Reds from long-timed breeders Paul and Copland Schmidt when they retired.
"We have never really looked back," said Mr Sherry. "The Belmont Reds are just so productive and so hardy, they can really handle most environments. Nothing phases them."
The CSIRO developed the Belmont Red breed at the Belmont Research Station near Rockhampton with an emphasis placed on objective selection for heritable and economically important traits such as growth rate, tick resistance, and fertility. The characteristics of the breed are good weight gain and good fertility, and heat tolerance, as well as docility.
Born and raised on the land at his family's grain and cattle farm only 20 kilometres away from Wahroonga, Mr Sherry fell in love with the Belmont Red breed because of its high fertility traits and ability to survive and thrive in tough conditions.
Now the vice-president of Belmont Australia, he said the breed is steadily gaining more recognition for the stellar, profit-building qualities they can bring to a herd.
"I was first drawn to the Belmont Reds because of the fertility of them," Mr Sherry said. "Seventy per cent of the profitability of a grazing enterprise comes from getting a calf on the ground.
"Certainly the bulls get calves get on the ground and more importantly the Belmont Red female is very sought after because of her excellent fertility traits as well.
"And the breed reputation for docility is well known; their temperament lets producers manage more stock with less labour. They're really a unique animal."
Wahroonga Belmont Reds' genetic achievements in also producing a quality carcase has been well demonstrated as well - last September it claimed the grand champion carcase broadribbon at the Central Queensland Carcase Classic.
"At the end of the day, what we are breeding is a carcase that is going to produce meat," Mr Sherry said. "We've always aimed to produce bulls with outstanding carcase results while also achieving high fertillity results."
All of the bulls on the catalogue for the sale are fully Breedplan recorded, morphology tested, DNA sire verified and horn/poll tested.
Mr Sherry said the ability to tap into measured genetic data means buyers can have absolute confidence.
"Being performance recorded it gives a predictable outcome for the buyer and it takes away the risk of things going wrong," he said.
"And we really take pride in standing by our product - we believe that's what everyone should do. From the feedback we've had from previous buyers we know they've been very satisfied with the integrity of the data and the results they've been able to achieve with our bulls.
"A lot of the bulls I've sold have gone to places within a 200 kilometre radius of where we live so we bump into those people all the time. It's very rewarding to breed a nice animal but for me it's even better to hear some of the feedback from people who say they are happy with what you are doing."
Take a look at the Belmont Australia 2021 Bull & Female Sale catalogue here. The Wahroonga Belmont Reds line up of bulls will be penned at CQLX from Saturday, September 4 and available for inspection by contacting Robert Sherry on 0407 589 453. On-farm inspections can also be arranged. The sale will be livestreamed on Stocklive. GDL are the sale agents.
This is branded content for Wahroonga Belmont Reds.
