The Boundary Rider’s Report June 2022

Thank you for taking the time to check out our latest Boundary Rider’s Report.

Since our last report, Winter has set in, it has cooled down, there have been a lot of frosts and it is still very very wet underfoot.  We received a bit of damage to some of our long established trees in the cold windy snap a week or so ago.  The clean up continues as bull sale preparation is underway.

Bull Sale Team update
All bulls have been recently freeze branded and are in their bull sale team groups in the lead up to the sale.  Vaccinations for Vibrio, Pesti, Lepto and Tick Fever have all been completed.  Semen Morphology Testing has been completed, with a few follow-up checks remaining.  Some Bulls are being supplementary fed with barley straw and DDG pellets, some just straw and Clover Hay only, ensuring Bulls are ready to work when you get them home.

In addition our online catalogue listing can be accessed through the Angus Society Website.  please follow this link.

If you have not entered the bull sale in your diary yet, please use this link to add to your google calendar.

Register Early

Early registration is available online.  Please follow this link and fill in your details.  The information will go straight to Elders.  When you arrive at Bald Blair on sale day please go straight to the Elders desk and they will have your bidder number/card ready for pick up.  Please note pre-registrations close at 5.00pm on Monday 1 August 2022 and you need to be aware of the terms and conditions. 

Video Display Sale
This year we will begin transitioning to a video display sale, to be held concurrently with our physical auction with bulls being displayed in the sale ring this year, 2022. What is a video display sale?  Three large TVs will be displayed in the bull selling facility for all bidders to see and a slide show of the videos of the bulls will be run on these screens.  This year our auctioneer, Paul Dooley will introduce each bull as it enters the ring and bidding will commence as per normal. 

Our plan is to move our 2023 Bull Sale to Video display only, with bulls remaining on display in the display pens as per normal, they just will not be moved through the selling ring.   It is being increasingly used and we look forward to sharing this experience with you. 

Struan and Monica Pearce from Stud Stock Sales https://studstocksales.com/ will be providing the technology to run the video display sale and will work with Elders, AuctionsPlus and Paul Dooley our auctioneer to ensure a seamless auction.

Reference Sires
Please see below a list of reference sires for this year's sale team. 

VLYM518:Lawsons Momentous M518

A Highly Proven Australian Sire, used significantly across the Angus Herd. M518 has proven himself well in the Bald Blair Herd, with a number of sons retained in the herd for breeding purposes, namely NBBR71 and NBBQ155. Great Carcase attributes, in particular, great IMF, top 1% of Breed. 13 Progeny in 2022 Bull Sale Team.

NORL519: Rennylea L519

Another Highly Proven Australian Sire, currently owned by Booroomooka Angus. NORL519 has done a great job in the Bald Blair Herd, 2 sons NBBP97 and NBBP69 also have progeny in this year's sale.  A great combination of Growth and Carcase. 6 Progeny in 2022 Bull Sale Team.

USA18170041: Sydgen Enhance

A highly used American Sire, Enhance represents a true outcross in our breeding program, plus calving ease, growth and carcase.  This bull is also ranked in the top 1% for NFI-F as well.  We have many Enhance Daughters breeding in our herd. 13 progeny in 2022 Bull Sale Team.

USA18636043: G A R Inertia

Another highly used American Sire, Inertia drives both Growth & Carcase in his progeny.   A great balance of Growth and lower MCWt, and carcase EBV's, with EMA in top 20% and IMF in top 10% of the breed.  He has many daughters breeding in our herd.  10 progeny in 2022 Bull Sale Team.

USA18159093: S Powerpoint WS5503

S Powerpoint WS 5503, was an American Sire introduced into our herd as an outcross pedigree.  We have had some great females in our herd, and one son  NBBQ133 breeding in our Stud Herd. S Powerpoint exhibits a great spread of growth EBV's from Birth to 600D.  5 Progeny in 2022 Bull Sale Team.

USA18130471: Musgrave 316 Exclusive

Another American sire introduced into the Bald Blair Herd as an outcross calving ease sire, with a good balance of Growth, MCwt and Carcase Traits.  3 Progeny in 2022 Bull Sale Team.

TFAK132: Landfall Keystone K132

A well used Australian Sire out of the Landfall Angus (TAS), used in our AI Programme. A Bull with a massive spread of EBV's from Birth to 600D, with Calving ease also;  Carcase wt in top 1% of breed.  New to our programme, an outcross sire also. 4 Progeny in 2022 Bull Sale Team.

GTNM6: Chiltern Park Moe M6

An exciting Australian Sire, Chiltern Park Moe M6  exhibits Calving Ease, Growth and great structure.  These 2 young sires are the first of many M6 progeny to come out of this herd.

NBBP97: Bald Blair Phenotype  

P97 A High growth, well structured son of NORL519 used in AI programmes here at Bald Blair.  Bought by the Gommers Family, Mandayan Livestock, S.A. in 2020. First sire from Bald Blair in Agrigene Catalogue. We have 4 yearling sons of P97 up for sale in our yearling team. We look forward to seeing more of this bull's progeny. Moving forward he continues to be part of our AI programmes.

NBBP69: Bald Blair Pheonix P69

Another NORL519 son breeding in the Bald Blair herd.  Used for 2 years then put into our commercial breeding programme.  Massive Growth, good structure.  18 sons in this year's sale team.

NBBN112: Bald Blair Nathan N112

An Ayrvale General G18 son used in the Bald Blair herd.  A Long bodied bull used as a calving ease sire.  Good Growth and Carcase. 10 sons in this year's sale team.

NBBP243: Bald Blair Proceed P243

The first of the High Marbling sires bred in or programme out of HPCA Proceed. With his EMA and IMF in the top 5% of the breed, this bull has had a positive impact in our programme. 4 progeny in this year's sale team.

NBBP32: Bald Blair Percival P32

A High Growth General L67 son, used as a coversire as a yearling, then sold as a 2 Year Old.  4 Progeny in this year's sale team.

NBBN47: Bald Blair Nelson N47

Another General son used in the Bald Blair Herd. Sold as a yearling to the Laurie Family, of Knowla Angus.  This bull's progeny exhibits a lot of growth.

BLAN46:Knowla Nobleman N46

Purchased from Knowla Angus in 2018, this bull has been used consistently in our Stud Breeding herd as a cover sire.  We will have progeny by this bull, this year and next.  Very sound with a lot of thickness.  Great Carcase and EMA combination. 7 Progeny in this year's sale team.

HKFM118:Paringa Judd M118

Added to the Bald Blair Herd as yearling in 2017, M118 has been an amazing bull. One would expect his figures would have him as a massive bull;  however he is moderate in size and thick.  His progeny are sound good looking stock.  5 progeny in this year's sale team.

Inspections & Open Day

Inspections are welcome anytime in the lead up to this year's annual Sale on Tuesday 2nd August 2022. Please call Sam on 0438 792140, or email samwhite@baldblair.com.au   to make a time. 

We will also have an Open Day on Sunday 31st of July from 10am until 2pm while the bulls are being paint branded with their sale lot numbers prior to Tuesday's Sale.  Hot food & beverages will be available.

Online bidding via AuctionsPlus

If you are unable to attend our bull sale on property at Bald Blair, it will be live streamed on AuctionsPlus.  If you are not already registered with AuctionsPlus, please take the time to register now, so you can become familiar with the platform. Last year we had many people register and bid online, so we understand this is a very important platform for people to buy the best bulls for their breeding program. 

Here is the link to our bull sale https://auctionsplus.com.au/auctions/cattle/bald-blair-angus-2022-bull-sale/98203

Link to register on AuctionsPlus https://help.auctionsplus.com.au/knowledge/how-do-i-register-to-bid

Link to demonstrations 

https://help.auctionsplus.com.au/knowledge/how-do-i-bid-on-auctionsplus

We will again have photos and videos of individual bulls closer to the sale and can provide additional information on any lots you may be interested in.

Three steps to buy a bull - from MLA Feedback Magazine

Bull sales are gearing up across northern Australia and, in the face of seasonal challenges and market demands, the integrity of highperforming sires has never been of greater importance for profitable beef businesses.

Here are three steps producers can take to optimise their sire purchases and ensure the bulls they invest in are fit for the job. 

Step 1: Know your herd and set clear breeding objectives

Before you even open the catalogue for this year’s bull sales, take a step back and consider your own herd and your breeding objectives for the future.  Analysing your environment (including factors such as feed availability and climate), target markets and profit drivers provides a baseline of your herd’s existing attributes – you can then use this information to identify what genetic traits to add to improve overall productivity and profitability. Breeding objectives should correspond to individual business requirements, such as resilience to specific environment, fertility for increased production and market compliance. Use this information to match the bulls on offer against the traits you need to accelerate genetic gains in your business.

Step 2 : Make sure health checks have been conducted.

Along with your own objectives, and a physical assessment on the day, a sound sire investment includes accredited veterinary checks. The Bull Breeding Soundness Evaluation (VBBSE) is an indicator of a bull’s fertility, with extensive tests on mating ability, sperm morphology, as well as physical deformities that may affect breeding capacity or offspring health. 

Step 3 : Research breeding values and indexes.

While a bull’s ability to reproduce is, of course, crucial, the genetic gain of their offspring is also vital to the productivity and profitability of northern beef herds. Here’s where Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) come in, as an important tool to predict the traits that will be passed to progeny. EBVs are determined through an analysis of various trait data collected from the cattle in the bull breeder’s herd. These include weight, temperament and fertility rates. They are also informed by the performance of relatives of that bull and, for some breeds of cattle, genomic information contributes to EBVs. As an additional guide, selection indexes provide an overall score of the profitability and quality of a bull based on its EBVs in relation to its profitability within a given production system. By researching a bull’s selection index, you will be able to gain a broader understanding of its genetic traits and whether they align with your breeding objectives. 

Learn more about the Bull Breeding Soundness Evaluation BULLCHECK at https://www.ava.com.au/about-us/ava-groups/cattle/resources/schemes/bullcheck/

Find out more about Australia’s genetic evaluation system for beef cattle breeders and buyers, BREEDPLAN, at https://breedplan.une.edu.au/products/breedplan/

Five videos to guide bull buying

https://genetics.mla.com.au/temperate/

Contact us: Sam White 0438 792 140  or Kirsty White 0427 722 908