Mount Perry producer Stuart Dingle was in high spirits Monday afternoon, after selling his first Chasewater Braford bull through the 2021 National Braford Sale.
At 37-months-old Chasewater Willis, sired by Strathgyle Sandy P116075 and out of Chasewater C9 P116480, was quick to draw the attention of Peter and Anne Kirkwood from Monto, who purchased him for $8000.
Mr Dingle said he was happy with the outcome of his first offering, and looks forward to coming back to the sale with more bulls next year.
"Really happy with the result. We came here with the intention to present a good article to sell, and not to take him home," he said.
"This was my first big bull sale and the first bull we've sold off the place.
"I've got to start somewhere and I'm very happy with how he sold. I should have three bulls ready for next year, so I'm looking forward to returning."
Mr Dingle credited the sale and said it provided him with a great platform to market his genetics with buyers travelling from all over to attend.
"Marketing through sales like this widens our reach and we get a lot better result marketing from a central location. You can go anywhere - north, south, east or west," he said.
"We'd like to try and aim to have five or six bulls at this sale down the track."
Mr Dingle's stud is operated alongside his commercial cattle breeding operation on 142 hectares (350 acres) of freehold and 1214ha (3000 acres) of leased country near Mt Perry.
"We just run a small operation. We have 40 stud cows and about 15 maiden stud heifers, and we run 30 commercial cows on agistment," he said.
"We sold some stud heifers for the first time this year at the Wide Bay Burnett heifer sale, and that was our first real inside experience in the stud sort of game."
When it comes to producing a good article, Mr Dingle said a good soft animal that can still handle the harsh conditions is what they aim for.
"We're semi-coastal country so the animals still need to be able to handle the ticks and the flies, without losing the softness of the breed. That's what we aim for," he said.
"They handle our country well, we get good weight gains and good returns on our cattle."
Mr Dingle also came to the sale chasing bulls and managed to walk away with 29-month-old polled bull Carinya Yandilla, who he purchased from the Amor family for $18,000.
"The old fella also came chasing four bulls, and we both managed to fill our order so that was good.
"We were really happy with the overall sale. To see the buyers come and the averages that were achieved was great," he said.
"I think the Braford breed is gaining momentum. They are a very versatile breed and there's a bull to suit nearly every market now."
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