Black Simmentals aid expansion in the York family's Karragarra program

THIS IS BRANDED CONTENT FOR KARRAGARRA SIMMENTALS

Central Queensland's largest Simmental operation, Karragarra Stud, Emerald, has recently notched up another breed milestone.

A recent purchase of the entire black component of the Jarravale black Simmental herd of some 200 females now sees the Karragarra prefix as the largest black Simmental outlet in the region.

These new black genotype females have settled into their new home running alongside a herd of 450 traditional females, all in the ticky country of central Queensland. Karragarra has been breeding quality traditional Simmentals for over 40 years based on proven breed genetics.

Principals, Wayne and Ingrid York, Karragarra Stud, have invested heavily in the acquisition of top sires and also have embraced both artificial insemination and in vitro fertilisation programs to mould and manufacture the right article for both central and northern Australia.

A feature of the forthcoming Annual Karragarra Simmental Sale will be the inclusion of 30 black bulls along with 80 traditional Simmental counterparts.

Of important note to all clients and prospective buyers is the change of date of the Karragarra Simmental Sale. The sale venue of the AgGrow Selling Complex, Emerald, with the new date being Wednesday, September 24.

Another date to remember in the spring calendar is Thursday, August 21, when the stud will stage an open day at its base, Pangkarra, Emerald.

These new black recruits have been selected for the same adaptability as their traditional sale stablemates, that being clean coats, performance and carcase attributes, and quality.

The entire team will enter the ring with all current scan data, semen and morphology tests, horn status, and clinical vaccinations including Three Day Sickness, Seven In One, Botulism, Lepto, Vibrio, and Three Germ Blood.

"Our expansion and purchase of this black herd and cattle enables that extra power and weight for age, Simmentals are renowned for, but now with a black coat," Wayne York said.

"We're constantly striving for consistency of type and commercial acceptance that has always been to the forefront of selection criteria here at Karragarra," he said.

"We prepare our sale bulls for a consistent growth trajectory using the best nutrition available, enabling us to set up the foundations for a long working life."

The average age of the 2025 at sale time will be approximately 22-months-old and include polled, dehorned, and homozygous polled individuals.

The true testament to the adapted Karragarra program is in the operations strong repeat clientele.

"The positivity we get when we see repeat commercial customers collecting major wins, at some of the biggest store and prime championships throughout the state, helps solidify the job our bulls are doing out in the real world," he said.

"We don't clip hair, trim feet, or pamper them, it's survival of the fittest from weaning until sale preparation.

"Performance on grass is what counts when it comes to turning heavy cattle off at a young age, that's the reason why we focus on natural doing ability."

THIS IS BRANDED CONTENT FOR KARRAGARRA SIMMENTALS