THE biggest money paid in recent memory for a Brangus cow worldwide has been outlaid by the Pearce family, of Telpara Hills stud, Atherton.
The US$70,000 price tag belongs to Oaks Ms Csonka 541T7, purchased on March 6 in the US at the Houston International Livestock Show and Rodeo's annual Brangus auction.
Leading figures of the breed in the US say the investment is the highest price paid for a Brangus female "anywhere in the world in many years".
According to the female's breeder, Joe Kassler, "all hell broke loose" and "the crowd went wild" when Trevor, Maureen and Fiona Pearce bid the top money at the same sale in which they sold an embryo flush for US$22,000 in 2011.
Many within the US Brangus fraternity say the cow may just be the best in the breed on the planet.
Her only two calves that have been offered at auction have demanded an average of more than $20,000, with her daughter 541X33 also selling to Telpara Hills for $14,000 and her son, Step Ahead 541X31, selling for $27,000.
She also ranks at the top of the International Brangus Breeders Association's performance evaluations for weaning weight, yearling weight, maternal traits, scrotal circumference, rib eye area and marbling - traits highly valued by the north Queensland stud.
"We began admiring this cow after we purchased her daughter in 2012," Trevor Pearce said.
"Our family spends a huge amount of effort researching and sourcing the best possible cattle genetics in the world and we felt like she would fit well into our programme at home."
Telpara Hills runs a herd of more than 1000 stud animals near Atherton as well as an elite herd of embryo donor females in Texas, US.
The Pearce family purchased the cow in partnership with an American Brangus breeder, Tony Westbrook, and plans to import her embryos as soon as possible.
Fiona Pearce said the stud's programme already had produced pregnancies from her daughter, 541X33 at home in Australia.
"This purchase has made us even more excited to see the resulting calves," she said.
"Continuing to provide elite Brangus genetics to Australian cattlemen has been very rewarding for our family and has lifted the profile of the Australian Brangus across the globe.
"We already have a lot of enquiry from the Americans about our Australian genetics, but will continue to focus on providing the best possible cattle for our commercial and stud clients in Australia."
