We searched the world to find something different that the Australian cattle industry needed and were lucky enough to find it.
- Pearce family, Telpara Hills Brangus
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As one of the leading seedstock producers in Australia, the Pearce family of Telpara Hills Brangus have their eyes firmly on the future, sourcing elite beef genetics from throughout the world.
Based on the Atherton Tablelands in Qld, the Pearce family, which includes Trevor and Maureen, son Stephen and his wife Brittany, and daughter Fiona, are well-known for their commitment to breeding a world-class Brangus herd.
The family have been involved in the beef industry since 1964, but while studying in the United States Stephen discovered the Brinks herd, a special line of Brangus cattle which he thought would perform well in Australian conditions.
Originally bred by Glen Brinkman, ultrasound scanning technology had been used since the 1960s to select Brangus for carcase quality attributes such as increased marbling, larger rib-eye areas and moderate fat cover.
The Pearce family carefully selected the most robust donors and bulls during the peak of the Brinks herd in the mid-2000s and imported genetics to Australia.
"We searched the world to find something different that the Australian cattle industry needed and were lucky enough to find it," they said.
"Through intensive breeding programs and ruthless selection for Australian conditions, we believe we have created a sought-after line of Brangus cattle.
"They perform just as well, if not better than the Angus breed for carcase traits with the added benefit of heat and tropical adaptation."
Telpara Hills have focused on breeding Brangus cattle which perform in three key areas including functionality and fertility, efficient production of kilograms and carcase quality.
"Cattle must be polled, structurally sound and fertile and able to adapt to harsh environments and they must be able to eat less to gain more weight in a shorter amount of time.
"Our genetics are designed to help producers improve carcase quality which should result in being paid more cents per kilogram on the grid system.
"We use a combination of visual assessment as well as Estimated Breeding Values as part of our selection.
"But we must remain practical and will never sacrifice something functional just because of the numbers on a page."
The result has been a thriving stud herd which currently sells between 200-250 bulls each year and continues to smash industry records with its stud bull and female sales.
This includes the record sale of Telpara Hills Van Damme 541H30 for $110,000 to the Burston family, Broadlea Station, Nebo, Qld, at the annual Rockhampton Brangus auction in 2014.
Other stud records include the highest selling female, Telpara Hills Miss Van Damme 15M3 at $60,000, going to Troy Mitchell, Theg Brangus, Coffs Harbour, NSW, and the highest selling Brangus bull at the Roma sale for $40,000.
"Heifers with Telpara Hills bloodlines have also commanded four times the price of non-Telpara Hills-bred females at the Rockhampton Brangus sale, and have taken every top spot since 2013.
While record-breaking sales make headlines, the Pearce family believe the stud's true success is confirmed by the performance of their commercial bulls and females.
This year, the Pearce family purchased several large lines of commercial Brangus steers from central Qld to fatten up.
When they assessed the performance of the steers they found an average benefit of $162 per animal in the steers sired by Telpara Hills Brangus bulls compared with traditional-style Brangus steers in the same group.
"Some of our bigger clients have been reporting this for years, but it was nice to verify the numbers ourselves and also have such a great result."
Telpara Hills specialises in direct on-farm sales year-round, from truckloads to single sires.
Elite bulls are also offered in the Australian Brangus Cattle Association sales at Roma in September and Rockhampton in October.
"As producers calve up here year-round, and most of our bulls stay in northern Qld, we need to be able to offer bulls year round so we can look after our local clients," they said.
"We really like the direct sales approach as it allows us to work more closely with our clients and provides vital feedback for our breeding program."
The Pearce family also offer Brangus semen and embryos through their Telpara Global Genetics website.
"But Telpara Global Genetics is not just a semen company, as the bulls and embryos we sell are used in our own stud. This means we can confirm a bull's performance on the ground, in our Australian conditions.
"We like to describe ourselves as practical innovators, we've been able to produce a world-class Brangus herd that offers a real dollar benefit to commercial beef producers."