Breaking donkey goes top at Beef Grand Prix sale, steer prospect follows
A breaking donkey fetched the top price at the first Caboolture Mazda Beef Grand Prix led steer and heifer prospect sale, in the Somerset region, where fierce bidding delivered a solid average.
About 70 people filled the stands at Ivery Downs near Colinton on Friday, January 30, and another 175 joined online, for the first stage in a competition with a Mazda BT-50 and $10,000 in cash prizes on offer.
A total of 21 lots of 21 offered were sold through the ring for a 100 per cent clearance, an average price of $4581, and sale gross of $96,200.
Fierce bidding started on the first lots and continued throughout the sale, with four prospects selling for more than $6000.
But top honours went to the two-to-three-year-old jack Rocky, offered by Troy Hepburn of Top Notch Fitting and Michael Robinson of MKR Simmentals, based near Casino, NSW.
Mike Needham, of Townson in the Lockyer Valley, bought Rocky for $13,000.
Rocky had been training for about six months, according to Mr Hepburn.
"We have sold about eight breaking donkeys now, and word must be getting around," Mr Hepburn said.
"You want a happy medium: we look for the ones that are quiet, but not too quiet that they can't work.
"It takes two months for them to be halter broken, then it's still 50-50 as to whether they can work with cattle.
"Rocky has been trained on calves, bulls, a whole range of cattle; the heaviest was probably 500 to 600 kilograms."
Not far behind was the top prospect Kayce, a Limousin steer at four months old and 214kg, offered by John, John Jr, and Miles Devlin of Alsace Limousins at Inverell, NSW.
Kayce sold to the Nicholls family of Tookawhile Show Steers at Kyogle, NSW, for $9000.
John Devlin said he was a good-looking calf from the get-go.
"Kayce is out of a big, soft, fleshy cow in Warrawindi Paytons Secret, and his sire, Summit Big Star, throws stylish calves," Mr Devlin said.
"It's pretty simple: his mother had plenty of milk, he's in a good paddock, and bred right.
"About 10 years ago we got into Limousins, and we have been going harder in the last few.
"We have about 100 registered females now, but we don't chase the bull market; we just breed steers mostly for the show circuit."
Kayce will go to the Grand Prix show and Royal Queensland Show in 2026, according to Nicole Nicholls.
"We are putting together a group of steers from all over, Charolais and Limousin," Ms Nicholls said.
"Kayce has thickness, depth, and capacity for age."
The Rockhampton Grammar School show cattle team bought the largest number of lots, with five head for an average of $3240.
Integrated Pastoral Company principal Grant Forde, based at Toowoomba, was the other bulk buyer, picking up four lots for a $6250 average.
Mr Forde said he was looking for stylish calves with length, muscle, bone, and shape.
"We will get them around as many shows as we can now," Mr Forde said. "The plan is to go for the big prize; that's the punt."
In a breakdown of the sale result, 15 steers sold for an average of $4560, and five heifers for an average of $2960.
Brenton and Trish Oppermann, Kumbia, sold the top-price heifer, seven-month-old Speckle Park and Limousin-cross HeartP4 Little Miss, to the Rockhampton Grammar School show cattle team for $3600.
Sale organiser and Ivery Downs Speckle Park principal Stacey Jones said strong interest online, alongside in-person bids, helped deliver a firm result, with 73 individual online bids and 45 bidders.
Buyers came from as far west as Charleville, up to Rockhampton, and into northern NSW, according to Gililand Livestock Marketing agent Connor Veraart.
"The incentives helped the sale result, but the quality of the cattle on offer spoke volumes," Mr Veraart said. "It was a small draft, with a focus on quality."
- Selling agents: Gililand Livestock Marketing and StockLive.
Vendor averages
(For vendors that sold at least two females under the hammer)
Steers
- Alsace Limousins: 4/4, $6450
- BP Grogan, 2/2, $6250
- HB Livestock: 2/2, $4000
- Ivery Downs Speckle Park: 2/2, $3750
- Provenance Limousins: 2/2, $2100
Heifers
- BT & PA Oppermann: 2/2, $3100.
