Generations have worked towards sale
CLUNIE Range Angus will offer 140 bulls on Friday, August 4.
This will be the largest offering to date and is the result of a significant planned expansion program over the past five years. The purchase of a number of individual donor cows from genuine dispersal sales, as well as the purchase of the highly regarded Cudgell Creek herd in southern New South Wales, has given Clunie Range a number of new female family lines. An expansion of both AI programs and embryo programs has allowed for a significant increase in numbers of the cow herd. Co-principal Brett Guest says the real strength of the operation is the quality of the female herd.
“More than 30 years ago we were given the opportunity to take the pick of the five best females we could find from the maiden heifers in the Grimstead Angus herd, which was a genuine quality stud, and by only ever introducing elite females since, we feel that they are the real engine room of the operation.”
Co-principal Brett Guest says the extra numbers have allowed even greater selection pressure, and is confident this year’s sale offering is of the best quality so far. Like all studs, last year’s sale average was high, but the most pleasing thing to Clunie Range was the positive commentary on the consistency and quality of the bulls offered. This year, while they have taken a step up in quality, a conscious effort has been made to increase numbers, allowing more buyers to operate with confidence. The Guests are fourth-generation angus breeders who were breeding commercial angus cattle long before starting the stud. Multiple generations of pregnancy testing, semen testing, semen morphology testing and continuous pressure on the cow herd to perform under the pressure of high stocking rates have contributed to developing a strong reputation of being “made of tough stuff”. The Clunie Range bulls have been performing exceptionally well locally around Goondiwindi, Moree and Tablelands areas, but also have many years of performance runs on the board in areas such as Cloncurry, Richmond, Bedourie, Blackall, Jericho, Longreach, Alpha and basically all over Queensland and NSW, and have been sold to every state.