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Toogoolawah Weaner Sale Feature
In a region famous for the Wivenhoe Dam and the Tarong power station in the nearby South Burnett , Toogoolawah is a fuel source of a diff erent kind, a reservoir of red meat that will keep the beef supply chain fi ring. And it appears Droughtmaster females are lighting the spark.
By BRAD COOPER
ONE OF South-East Queensland’s premier selling centres for quality weaners consistently demonstrates why Droughtmaster females are at the heart of the off ering. Droughtmaster Magazine visited Toogoolawah Saleyards in midMay to talk with buyers and sellers at one of three weaner sales hosted by Brisbane-based stock and property agents Shepherdson and Boyd in 2021.
Fertile Females
Cory Kruger from nearby property Corolla was among the action, admiring some of the Droughtmaster infused weaners on off er. Cory’s breeder block that’s been part of the family operation since 1932, runs a predominantly Droughtmaster herd mated to Droughtmaster bulls starting in October. With a conception rate of 95 per cent, calving is fi nished in December, and calves are weaned off a day before tracking them to the sale. “I never have any dramas with the Droughtmaster mothers. They have loads of milk and they grow a good calf that turns into a low stress, easily handled animal.” Temperament the key
Steve Barraclough and his wife Leanne have been running Droughtmasters for 25 years, mating pure-bred bulls to heifers and joining Charolais bulls as terminal sires to Droughtmaster cows.
The couple have four blocks at Toogoolawah with 120 breeders around the Mount Beppo district of alluvial fl ats and scrub country. Recent rainfall over summer and early autumn has been a huge bonus, but even through the years of stubborn drought conception was strong at 90 per cent, with 95 per cent of pregnant females gett ing calves on the ground.
“And even when seasons are tough the weaners don’t lose weight, they keep putt ing on condition,” he said.
Selling 43 weaners at the sale – 30 steers and 13 heifers, Steve highlighted the even temperament across his sale draft.
“They are such an even line of catt le, nice and quiet. When you have older people in the yards managing the operation on your own, or with the kids helping out, you just can’t have problem catt le. “The temperament of the Droughtmaster makes them a joy to work with.” Head start for bullocks
Livestock buyer Midge Thompson, of Aussie Land and Livestock, Nanango was working the phone on behalf of buyer clients during the sale. In between calls he explained that in his own operation of leased country he runs a portion of tropically infused cows and Droughtmaster cows mated to Droughtmaster and Euro bulls. “But the Droughtmaster cows are the foundation,” he said. “They have natural, mothering abilities, are easy-care and bloody fertile. “Being a stock agent means I also don’t have a lot of time, so I need a breeding herd that’s low maintenance. That’s another tick in the Droughtmaster column.” Mating October-February and calving July-December, Midge’s 300-strong breeding herd will produce calves that will be retained and conditioned on grass and grain until they mature as heavy steers at 650-700 kilograms for the Jap Ox market. “The bullocks feed well and lay down plenty of muscle and fat either in the feedlot or the paddock, but they get that head start from their Droughtmaster mums as soon as they hit the ground,” he said.
Calves thrive
Beef producer Ashley Schefe, who was selling PTIC heifers at Toogoolawah, reckons the Droughtmaster calf will show more resilience in the tough times than any other breed he knows. Which means that in the good times, he has paddocks full of blossoming young catt le at his 365-hectare property at Anduramba towards Crows Nest, near Toowoomba. Ashley used to put Charolais bulls over Droughtmaster females, before switching to Droughtmaster sires in 2019 following purchases from Paul Laycock’s High Country stud. With 55 Droughtmaster cows in calf or with calves at foot, mothers and their young are revelling in the change in seasonal fortunes, he said. “I look out over my paddocks and all I can see are red shiny catt le up to their guts in grass,” he said. “It’s a beautiful sight.”
