Thursday's Burnett Livestock and Reality All Breeds Steer Sale will be a day etched into Alan and Sue Fowler's memory bank.
After getting up and loading a truck of steers for the premier sale, they returned home with a new John Deere Gator as a prize.
The couple consigned two pens of Santa Gertrudis steers and a pen of Charbray/Santa Gertrudis steers to the sale.
It was their Charbray/Santa Gertrudis pen that claimed the award in the Charolais Charbray infused category before claiming the Gator as the prize for the champion pen of steers of the show and sale.
The champions were by Greenup-bred Santa females joined to Wattlebray-bred Charbray bulls and at 18 months had been running on grass country.
The Fowlers, who maintain a purebred Santa Gertrudis breeder base, were pinning their hopes with their purebred Santa Gertrudis pens.
"We thought we if had any chance it would be the purebred steers, so this win proves our cross breeding program is working," Mr Fowler said.
The couple have 2835 hectares of breeder country spread over two blocks in the Coalstoun Lakes district. They normally target their steers to the feeder market.
About 3000 steers were yarded at the event and drawn from the surrounding district where the market remained fully firm.
One pen of the Fowlers Santa Gertrudis steers sold for 610c/kg, weighing 596 kilograms to return $2685/head while the second pen hit 610c/kg to return $2410/head.
The champions returned $2630/head after weighing 427kg and selling for 616c/kg.
"The market is excellent - I have never experienced such a booming market," Mr Fowler said.
Mr Fowler also admitted he widely admired the John Deere Gator when he and Sue sighted it and not thinking they might win it.
"I did get some quotes to think about buying one from Pat Hardin of RDO Equipment who donated it," he said.
Judge, Jack Wilkinson, livestock manager Mort and Co said it was a phenomenal line up of cattle that didn't make his job easy.
"There was evenness of type throughout the draft, and this is certainly a great way for producers to benchmark their cattle against their neighbour," he said
Other results:
Best Pen of Santa Gertrudis/infused steers - Glenellan Cattle Co, Chinchilla.
Best pen of Brahman/infused steers - Clare Grazing, Theodore.
Best pen of Simmental/infused steers - Lehmann Cattle Co.
Bet pen of Charolais/Charbray/infused - Alan and Sue Fowler.
Best pen of Droughtmaster/infused - GJ and EV Carr.
Best pen of Braford/ infused - BS and J Anderson.
The lucky vendor draw was won by the Trott Family Grazing Co, Mundubbera.
Queensland Country Life will have a full markets report on the sale in next week's issue
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Helen Walker
Helen is the Toowoomba-based journalist who loves nothing better than covering anything horse sport related, however she covers all commodities and personality yarns. Over the years she has lived in Brisbane, Rockhampton, Longreach and Roma filing stories for the 'bible of the bush'. Contact 0459 827414.
Helen is the Toowoomba-based journalist who loves nothing better than covering anything horse sport related, however she covers all commodities and personality yarns. Over the years she has lived in Brisbane, Rockhampton, Longreach and Roma filing stories for the 'bible of the bush'. Contact 0459 827414.
