Santa gertrudis cattle continue rise to top
Breed in top spot for Ekka 2017 entries
THERE’S a certain sense of satisfaction to be gained when you see the breed you’ve championed for decades as the most popular at the Royal Brisbane Show.
Apart from the obvious, it meant breeders were doing a fantastic job of putting the cattle in the right places for people to take notice.
That was the situation this year for Santa Gertrudis Association president Scott Ferguson.
Mr Ferguson has been gearing up to take about 90 head of santa gertrudis cattle, plus calves, to Ekka.
Mr Ferguson runs Glen View, a three-property, thirdgeneration cattle enterprise at Nobby that includes his santa stud, Glenn Oaks.
He said the winter had been relatively kind and Ekka preparations were coming along well, as well as his sale in late September and the Royal Adelaide Show on September 1, where santas were the feature breed.
While he might seem like a dedicated showman, and he certainly didn’t mind taking some ribbons, he said the main aim was just to get the breed out there where people
could see them.
Ekka was usually his only show for Mr Ferguson, but the feature breed show in Adelaide was worth the effort.
He said 26 of the bulls heading off to Ekka would go up for sale at the Headingley Sale Complex, on McGovern Rd, Headington Hill, on September 27 for the Santa Central Sale.
He believed the popularity of the breed both in its own right and as a good cross for
breeds like brahman, angus and hereford, had become more than evident in recent years.
“Santas have done really well over the past couple of years and certainly the quality has drawn comment, not just from santa breeders but other breeders as well,” Mr Ferguson said.
“There are 159 santa entries at Ekka, so it’s the most entered breed there.
“The breed is also doing
well commercially in areas like weight gain and carcase attributes.
“We also got a record average at our bull sale last year.”
He said the Ekka migration would start this Thursday to give him and his 25-strong team enough time to wash the cattle up and prepare them for judging next Thursday.
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