FATHER and son team Les and Ewan Rockemer, Gigoomgan, Brooweena, are firm believers that it's all about the beef when it comes to breeding cattle.
The Rockemers, who run a 650-head crossbred breeding herd on about 4000 hectares of country in Wide Bay region, said they were constantly on the lookout for bulls that matched their females.
"Crossbreeding is always about producing the best animal possible," Les Rockemer said.
"We're not so worried about breeds. We're focused on producing the best beef we can. We're constantly looking for width, length and hindquarter. We like to breed good ones and ones we like looking at."
The proof of the power of crossbreeding is in the proverbial pudding. The Rockemers exhibited the champion pen at the annual Burnett Livestock Exchange steer sale in Biggenden last week, following on from their big win in May with a champion pen of Brangus weaners.
The Rockemers offered a pen of very well grown 18-month-old Kilkenny blood Charolais/Brahman-cross steers, selected by judge, Kenilworth-based commission buyer John Ferriday. For their efforts, the Rockemers were awarded a Leicht's CIA Immobilizer Pro-Chute cattle crush.
The attractive 403kg steers sold for an outstanding 419.2c/kg live to return $1691.
While much of Burnett region has received falls of up to 300mm, other parts have only recorded 40-50mm.
This resulted in a number of producers facing ongoing water challenges taking advantage of the red hot market, selling their cattle a couple of months earlier than usual (see sale report, back page).
Producers were well rewarded with many the cattle at the 3000-head sale selling in the 410-420c/kg range, driven by strong competition from feedlot buyers for all classes of feeder and backgrounder steers.
The Rockemer's property Gigoomgan is currently enjoying an outstanding season after excellent rain. The