For the Bonisch family, crossbreeding Santa Gertrudis bulls, as a terminal sire, with their 1700 head Charbray breeding herd has been a successful line of business for seven years and counting.
Rhett and Amy Bonsich, along with their three daughters Sharnee, Tylah and Ryleigh, and Rhetts' mother Sheryl, call Hillview, situated 2.5km from Injune home.
From Hillview they run their operations across seven properties, all located within a 30km radius of the town.
Their combined country runs from heavy brigalow into pine and loam soil, which has been blessed with consistent rainfall since mid-January this year.
"We've had a really good season, and we still have a good body of feed available," Mr Bonisch said.
The family introduced Santa Gertrudis into the business for their ability to throw a bit more fat cover over the progeny produced via joining these bulls to their Charbray cows.
"We purchased our first Santa bulls from the Heartland bull sale. The resulting cross is quite soft and the feedlots really seem to like them," he said.
"We sell all our steers to the Geldard family, at Roxborough Feedlot, just outside of Miles.
"We sell the steers as young as possible, at 450kg or more.
"We've been very happy with the prices we've been receiving lately through this market."
The bulls are joined with the breeders in October, and then removed from the paddock at weaning in June.
"Due to the dry years we've contended with prior to 2021, we've been fairly lenient when selecting the cows we retain. Our focus is on increasing our numbers back up at present."
The Bonischs purchased a further six bulls at the Heartland sale last year.
"Calves by these bulls have started dropping in the paddocks and we're excited to see how they develop.
"We like attending the Heartland sale as it's held within close proximity to us, and the bulls we buy there are delivered straight to our doorstep.
"We've been happy with the quality and performance of the bulls we've purchased there to date. They've provided an excellent return on our investment."
