Stockman Red Brahmans dominates Rocky All Stars with trifecta of top prices
One vendor claimed the trifecta, securing first, second and third top prices at this year's Rocky All Stars Elite Brahman Female Sale.
The sale at CQLX Gracemere on Saturday, March 21, had 66 females on offer - 36 reds and 30 grey Brahmans.
Paying $25,000 for the top priced female, Stockmah Dienka 662 was the Dunn family of David and his wife, Noeleen, and their oldest son Clinton and his wife, Emma-Leigh, and younger son Jarrod and his wife, Jessica, Lavinia Park, St Lawrence.
At 16 months and homozygous polled, Stockman Dienka 662 was sired by Tarramba Topshelf 4174, and her dam was Stockman Dienka 564. The dam's sire was NCC Red Odyssey.
Speaking on behalf of the family, David Dunn said the heifer had proven bloodlines and she would go into their battery of IVF females.
"I thought she was a good thick heifer, a good straight heifer, with a good underline and, like I said, her breeding was important too," he said.
The Dunn family hasn't purchased females from Stockman Red Brahmans before, but they did buy the top-priced bull, Stockman Galactic 755, from this year's Big Country Brahman Sale at Charters Towers for $90,000.
Mr Dunn said the heifer and bull would probably be joined in an IVF program.
The Dunn family runs a breeding operation of 800 commercial breeding females and fatten bullocks. Their stud which they have been operating for the past 21 years has 170-200 stud females.
"I thought the females (at this year's sale) were very good, I thought it was tough enough at times," Mr Dunn said.
This year's sale had a final gross of $414,625 that included sales during and after the auction. .
Under the hammer, 57 out of 66 lots sold for an 86 per cent clearance and a $6965 average.
For the reds, 31 of 36 sold for a clearance of 86pc for a top of $25,000 and an average of $7855, while for the greys, 26 of 30 sold for a clearance of 87pc, a top of $11,000 and an average of $5904.
A genetics package of five semen straws from Glengarry Cattle Co's Wallace Mr Xaviat 244/24 fetched $1625 or $325/straw.
For the 2025 sale, the gross was $328,000 with 52 of 63 females selling for a clearance rate of 83pc and an average of $6307. With the genetics included, the sale grossed $337,500.
Of the reds, 29 from 32 sold for a clearance of 90pc, a top of $16,000 and an average of $6345 while for the greys, 23 out of 31 sold for a clearance rate of 74pc, a top of $16,000 and an average of $6500.
Chris McCarthy of Stockman Red Brahmans, East Haldon, near Gatton, agreed he had a good year so far with the top three priced females at the Rocky All Stars and the top priced red bull at the Big Country sale.
Stockman had a draft of nine females at the Rocky All Stars, with eight selling under the hammer and a ninth selling after the sale for $4000.
Three of the Stockman draft fetched the sale's top three prices of $25,000 for Stockman Dienka 662; $23,000 for Stockman Aura 687 purchased by R and T Comiskey, Central Creek, Emerald, and $18,000 for Stockman Dienka 852 bought online by Jack o'Connell, Limestone Ridges.
"We had a really good result here, we've been doing well here for the last five years, we keep trying to bring good ones and we keep getting rewarded so we're very happy," Mr McCarthy said.
He said the top-priced female was everything buyers wanted.
"She's correct, she's poll, PP, she's cherry red, she's got genetics that everyone wants, she's bomb proof quiet, just what we're trying to breed," he said.
This year's top priced grey, El Ja Kandice Manso 6753/2 from El Ja Brahmans, Theodore, was purchased by Scott Angel, Glengarry Cattle Co, Kunwarara, for $11,000 for Glengarry S prefix.
Mr Angel said he bought the heifer because he thought she was a standout as soon as he saw her advertised in the pre-sale material.
"Type and body, disposition and growth for age and all that sort of stuff, and being two months in calf to a pretty classy sort of a bull," he said.
Mr Angel, who has been breeding Brahmans for more than 40 years, said he would hopefully breed a sire out of her or a bull that he could sell for a little bit of money.
El Ja Brahmans principal Helen Donald said she thought they did pretty good at this year's sale, selling 12 heifers and calf.
Mrs Donald said she did not pick the top-priced grey out of their draft, but her husband, Les, did.
"I think the attraction this time (for the top grey) was that she's in calf, she's a proven breeder ... and, if you've got a proven breeder that means a lot," she said.
This year is the fifth consecutive year that Stockman Red Brahmans has topped the sale for the reds.
Mr McCarthy, who has 300 head in his stud, said this was his 26th year of breeding red Brahmans, and he only sold at Brahman Week, Big Country and Rocky All Stars.
"The two sales we've been to this year, we've topped both of them," he said.
Mr McCarthy said he bred red Brahmans because they crossed well with a lot of other breeds.
"I've always liked the red cattle ... I'm not against the greys ... I just think they (the reds) can cross with other breeds like your Simmentals and all those sort of breeds quite well, and any red factor seems to make a bit more money," he said.
Elders Stud Stock manager for Queensland and the Northern Territory, Michael Smith, said buyers over the course of the last 12 months had been very selective, but were happy to pay a premium for a superior quality article.
"This sale is a sale where we've always targeted that better, end-type female, but in saying that, there's always ... females that are suitable for commercial operators that are wanting to improve their female herd and can come here and do that," he said.
"And we had a number of those buyers operating on the bottom end of that market today, which was greatly appreciated just to keep that clearance up."
Mr Smith said online activity was quite strong again this year, with buyers bidding from as far away as Kyogle in northern NSW and Charters Towers.
Vendor averages (for individual prefixes that sold at least two animals under the hammer)
Robert Orphant, Westbank: 1/3 average $6000
Chris McCarthy, Stockman Red Brahmans, East Haldon: 8/9 average $13,062
Len & Peter Gibbs, Muan Pastoral: 6/8 average $4333
Les and Helen Donald, El Ja Brahman Stud, Theodore: 10/12 average $5700
Scott Angel, Glengarry Cattle Co, Kunwarara: 7/7 average $5214
Scott Angel, Glengarry S prefix, Kunwarara: 3/3 average $5833
Alistair & Pam Davison, Viva Brahman Stud: 3/3 average $8333
Kris & Alicia Thorpe, Ekali Brahmans: 3/4 average $4833
Beth Streeter, Palmvale: 10/10 average $6550
Tony & Emma Olsen, Lindley Park Brahman Stud: 4/4 average $7125
Tim & Alison Krause, Malabar Red Brahmans: 2/2 average $5250
- Agents: Elders Stud Stock, simulcast on Stocklive
