SOME of the Limousin breed’s top genetics will be available in the inaugural BJF Limousins on-property sale at Yarraman on September 30.
In previous years, stud principals Bradley and Jodie Frohloff had been selling bulls privately and through several multi-vendor sales.
“We’ve been part of multi-vendor sales so we have a fair spread of clients across the Darling Downs and Burnett area and into Central Queensland, but we’ve built a brand new sale complex to bring everyone to us,” Mr Frohloff said.
The 59-lot catalogue includes 46 bulls – 41 black and apricot Limousins, three Brahisoun and two Kandu Speckles (Limousin/Speckle Park-cross) – and 13 genetic packages – two PTIC (pregnancy-tested-in-calf) recipient cows, two flush opportunities, four embyro lots and five semen packages.
The Yarraman-based stud began in 2006, but the interest in Limousins started a few years earlier when Mr Frohloff noticed the breed’s carcase qualities in his butcher shop.
“I was born and bred on a dairy farm and loved breeding the dairy cattle, but there wasn’t enough room for me on the farm, so I ended up buying a little butcher shop in town to still have an interest with cattle and have cash flow at the time,” he said.
“Once we got into the butcher shop, I spoke to a lot of butchers and vibe I got was to use Hereford beef and stick to the one breed, but when we had some bodies come through that were Limousin-cross, I couldn’t believe the difference, especially in the lack of waste with the Limousins.
“I developed a passion for the breed and after a few years decided to set up a stud. I liked the carcases, but the Limousin breed has also got a lot of genetic bloodlines to choose from.”
BJF Limousins started with females from Timor, Burubi, Willow Park and Oakwood studs.
“We bought a lot of good stud cows, got into AI (artificial insemination) and now we do a lot of embryo work, buying best semen we can get our hands on,” Mr Frohloff said.
“Now that we’ve got to the stage where those really good genetics are coming through, we decided that an on-farm sale was the way to go.”
Mr Frohloff said the stud’s focus was docility and fat cover for early finishing.
“We know that Limousins have got the muscle and the carcase, but for today’s marketplace we need cattle that are going to finish early, so we’re breeding bulls for a softer carcase and early finishing, for cattle that can lay down fat. We’ve used a lot of North American and Canadian bloodlines that are focused on those carcase qualities.”
The sale is at BJF Limousins at Yarraman on September 30, starting at 1pm.