Central, south wins as Brangus feature goes to Taroom for the first time

Central Queenslanders shared the female honours but one southern Queensland stud scooped the male prize pool when Brangus cattle headlined the 2025 Taroom show as the feature breed on Monday, May 5.

Sixty-seven Brangus entries from 13 exhibitors vied for a prize pool of over $16,000, going through the double scrutiny of judge Brendan Scheiwe, Brendale Charolais, Tallegalla, and associate judge Sarah Horrocks, Monto.

The cow that won the senior championship and then the grand championship, Bullakeana Velvet only came in out of the paddock three weeks ago.

Stud principal Brad Hanson said, although she and her calf, a heifer sired by Castle Sandringham, had just been brought in, Velvet had been shown as a heifer and had done a lot of junior parading.

"We went looking in the paddock because the feature show was on and that's who we found," he said.

Her credentials were top-notch, being sired by Palgrove Prime Mover, a top Ultrablack bull.

The championship win gives the Hanson's Bullakeana stud their third Brangus feature show win in four years, having also won at Rockhampton and Proston, and it's also the stud's fourth time showing at Taroom.

"We like showing here, there's a lot of community support," Mr Hanson said. "We live at Theodore, only 90km away, and do a lot with Taroom people."

The stud focuses heavily on its female side, which Mr Hanson said was a core value.

"We breed for a cow herd that's sound and self-reproducing," he said. "Good bulls come from that."

Whenever the bulls entered the ring, it was the Lazy S stud, based at Condamine, that collected the blue ribbons with calf, junior and senior championships, and therefore the grand championship, and then the supreme exhibit prize.

Supreme exhibit winner, Lazy S Havelock was "just a damn good bull", according to stud principal Suzy Fawcett.

In the eyes of judge Brendan Scheiwe, he was very powerful with a huge eye muscle.

He had been the reserve junior champion Brangus bull at Beef 2024 and had been sired by Bonox 823, which Ms Fawcett said had been used in her herd a lot.

It was her first win at a Taroom show, and Ms Fawcett said it had been a great day for Brangus cattle overall.

"It was a terrific representation of the breed," she said.

Brangus Australia CEO Nathan O'Sullivan said they'd had strong support from surrounding districts.

"It's a great grazing area and it's been a good opportunity to showcase the breed," he said. "Their adaptability and maternal strength have been shown off, as well as their ability to perform in a range of seasonal conditions."

Results

• Calf ch female - Kraken Varsity, Jason & Julie Jeynes; res - Kaydeeay Jasmine, Brendan and Lisa Lau Lau
• Calf ch bull - Lazy S Kruger, Susan Fawcett; res - Lazy S Kurgo
  
• Jr ch female - Triple B Bonita U329; res - Kraken U2 Peaches 114U31
• Jr ch bull - Lazy S Jabiru; res - Weona Nebraska
  
• Sr ch female - Bullakeana Velvet, Hanson Cattle Co; res - Weona Maggie, Weona Brangus
• Sr ch bull - Lazy S Havelock; res - Lazy S Incred-A-Bull
  
• Gr ch female - Bullakeana Velvet
• Gr ch bull - Lazy S Havelock
• Supreme exhibit - Lazy S Havelock
• Gr ch female - Bullakeana Velvet