A Santa Gertrudis female has sold for $50,000 in a private sale at the Royal Queensland Show today.
NIOA Lucy, sired by former RNA Brisbane Royal reserve grand champion bull Moongana Karachi, was purchased by West Australian investor Clinton Wheatley to join a line of cows being managed in a shared progeny deal with Rob and Lorraine Sinnamon's Kyogle-based Riverina Santa Gertrudis.
The three-year-old heifer was among an eight-strong Riverina-NIOA draft making a return to the Brisbane Ekka judging ring for the first time since 2019 after COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 shows.
Mr Sinnamon said NIOA Lucy had created a benchmark for high-value Santa cows.
"This would have to be up there with the highest money paid for a Santa Gertrudis female in Australia," Mr Sinnamon said.
"She's a superb homozygous poll example of a functional Santa Gertrudis female. You will go a long way to find a more beautifully balanced female with an ideal tropical coat type, tremendous volume and capacity."
NIOA Lucy's mother is Goolagong Lucy L103 who was a successful foundation dam for NIOA's seedstock operation at Talgai Homestead at Allora on Queensland's Southern Downs.
The purchased female will be used extensively through IVF.