In a year where much of Queensland has received drought-breaking rainfall, many Territorians are still facing dry conditions, but one constant throughout the seasons has been the popularity of Brahman cattle.
The Dyer family recently purchased 32 bulls at the Rockhampton Brahman Week Sale for their commercial operation at Hayfield station, between Katherine and Tennant Creek.
Spending an average of $8250 per head, the Dyer's were keen to invest in bulls that would make the most of the dry conditions in the Territory, but also produce cattle to suit the export market.
Justin Dyer said this was a year of strong prices at the annual sale, which made for competitive buying amongst commercial operators, with many having to pay a higher average price for their draft of bulls than other years.
"We've always stuck to the grey Brahmans for the Indonesian market and for the climate that we're in," he said.
"They're real survivors and we're really happy with the Brahmans, we get plenty of calves and they're good mums, even when it gets tough.
"We're pretty lucky that we've had really good quality Brahmans here during the really dry last four seasons we've had."
Mr Dyer said that half of the draft secured in Rockhampton would be joined to a group of maiden heifers, while the remainder would top up the breeder paddocks to replace bulls that had been culled from the herd during the year.
"They have to have really good confirmation and be structurally sound to walk the distances they're going to have to do up here," he said.
"We were also chasing temperament and tidy underneath, with a good scrotal circumference and not to big of a birthweight.
The Dyers will join around 5000 breeders before December this year, with numbers being slightly lower than usual due to a run of below average wet seasons.
"It's been really, really super dry," Mr Dyer said.
"We've had three failed wet seasons out of the last four.
"We're in a 24 inch average rainfall area, but in 2018 and 19 we had eight, 2020 we had 12, 2021 we had 18 and so far, 2022 we've had nine, so it's been really dry which is unusual for us."
Like many graziers in the Territory, the Dyer's are hoping for a solid wet season this time around, with promising weather predictions heading into the back end of this year.
