16th Annual Bull Sale

9am, Wednesday 18 September 2024

‘Mareto’, Augathella QLD

Online bidding via AuctionsPlus

100 grass fed bulls

Click for Rangeland Bulls 2024 Catalogue

View Location & Program

Our commercial focus as beef producers gives Rangeland Bulls a unique point of difference as seedstock producers and means our breeding priorities are reflective of the profit drivers in a commercial herd.  This paradigm shift focuses on productivity gains that come from running fertile, efficient cows that will wean a higher percent of their own weight with fewer inputs.  Our commercial breeder herd of 5,000 females is run in tough environmental conditions of southwest Queensland in an entirely grass-fed organic system without artificial inputs. Rangeland Bulls are Angus Brahman composite (3/4 Angus and 1/4 Brahman), selected for adaptation to the environment and commercial productivity whilst also achieving optimum market compliance.  

‘Our intention has always been to breed the bulls we want to use in our own beef business with commercial traits that increase net profit. So, we are entirely invested in the breeding direction and cow herd discipline to achieve this. Rangeland Bulls offer an alternative where bulls have been selected for over 25 years based on genetic merit without any nutritional advantages and are presented for sale in grass-fed condition. Seeing bulls in paddock condition helps buyers make a more reliable assessment of how they will perform in a commercial program when they get home with a rumen ready to eat the same pastures as the cows. As commercial cattle breeders, the bulls that display adaption, constitution and do-ability in the paddock, without inputs, are the ones we wish to breed steers from. ’
Steve TaylorCo-founder, Rangeland Bulls

The selection traits of the program have remained constant for over 25 years, with the enduring goal of optimising net profit per hectare in a commercial environment.  Cows need to work hard to stay in this grass-fed organic system, where selection pressure is essential for genuine genetic progress of the herd.  Rangeland Bulls maintain our collective practice of only keeping females which produce a calf unassisted by two years of age and continue to do this annually within a 2-month joining period.  As a result, only the most functional animals remain in the herd, without pursuing extremes in any one trait.

Our focus has never been to produce a large number of bulls. Rather we have been selecting animals we wish to use ourselves and so focus on intense selection of the best performing bulls from our collective herd.  Only the top 5% of male calves make it as bulls and they must have reached puberty by 12 months of age with a scrotal measurement of 28cm plus, off grass.

‘Fertility traits in males (eg. scrotal size) are correlated to key fertility traits in females. Focusing on bull selection for improved fertility will result in improvements in both male and female fertility and therefore overall herd reproductive performance. It was found scrotal size needs to be evaluated not so much as ‘how big’ but ‘how big and how soon’. Bulls achieving large scrotal size by 18 months are not nearly as valuable as those that achieve large scrotal size by 12 or 14 months, ie when you want your heifers to be cycling. It is therefore important that seedstock breeders are taking yearling scrotal measurements of bulls, not just the later ones. One clear outcome of other research in the north is that smaller framed females reach puberty earlier and as cows they find it easier to maintain condition and get back in calf within the 12 month cycle. The pursuit of frame size by many of those in the beef seedstock industry is therefore at least partly responsible for the problem of lower fertility in commercial herds today.’
CRC Northern Female Reproduction Project

Read more about our family breeding program

Breeding Locations

Located across southwest Queensland:

Charleville
Augathella
Morven
Mitchell
Chinchilla

Breeding Program Criteria

  • Temperament
  • No artificial inputs. The entire herd is grass fed, organic.
  • Fertility. Selection pressure across the herd means every female must calve unassisted by 2 years of age and continue to wean a calf every 12 months, within a 60-day joining.
  • Polled
  • Intense bull selection. Only top 5 % of male calves selected as bulls for continued genetic gain.
  • Early puberty. Selection for scrotal size at weaning and one year old. Bulls must have reached puberty by one year old. Research shows scrotal size needs to be evaluated in terms of ‘how big and how soon’ ie when you want your heifers cycling.
  • Adaption. Bred in tough environmental conditions in southwest Queensland to perform off grass, with no artificial inputs.
  • Bulls in paddock condition, ready to work. View bulls in their ‘working clothes’ to select animals that can perform in a commercial environment. As well as economic benefits, research shows raising bulls on natural pasture has positive effects on soundness, fertility and longevity. Findings of a study at the Lethbridge Research Centre show the seminal quality of bulls declined as body condition increased. It appears that the grain-fattened bulls were unable to cool the scrotum due to excessive fat deposits in the neck of the scrotum. The researchers concluded that for the best fertility, bulls should be grown from weaning to maturity on non-grain, forage diets.
  • Market suitability. Selection traits based around fertility and growth patterns to meet organic, MSA market specifications, off grass.

The cow herd discipline of joining cows for only 2-months (and the same two months each year) means breeders must have an inter-calving interval of under 365 days, achieved in a natural environment.

The Rangeland Bulls Team

Steve & Esmae Taylor
'Moriah', Chinchilla

0428 549 169
Email

Kate & Peter Moloney
'Wetlands', Augathella

0427 549 169
Email

Kenton & Amy Peart
'Dunvegan', Charleville

0428 159 072
Email

Sale Location & Program

Mareto
2251 Mt Tabor Road
Augathella QLD

Mareto Airstrip coordinates
25º 40’45” S
146º 45’46” E 

PROGRAM
9am – Registration. Bulls available for inspection
11am – Helmsman Auction commences

Click for Rangeland Bulls 2024 Catalogue

Please stay for a BBQ lunch following the sale.

 

Helmsman Auction

Starting bid $4,000 + GST
100% grass fed bulls

Bred commercially. Fed commercially. Grown commercially. Marketed commercially.

Selling Agent

TopX Roma
Cyril Close
0428 222 308 

© 2024 Rangeland Bulls

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