THE ability to watch bulls be paraded before sale with catalogue in hand is a big plus in Matthew Passmore's books when it comes to the Shorthorn National Show and Sale.
Mr Passmore (pictured) runs a purebred herd of red, white and roan cattle on his Forbes district property, "Connemara Farms", and has been a regular at the Dubbo sale for years.
The show and sale is a two-day event, and he uses the judging day to look at as many animals as he can.
He steers clear of the size extremes and tends to focus on animals he feels display good conformation.
Do-ability, fat cover and fertility were also important traits in his criteria and among those he checked before referring to estimated breeding values.
The effort he goes to at the national sale to get the right bulls is reflected in his belief that "half of your herd is the bull".
With this in mind, Mr Passmore reviews his sire battery each year, removing any old bulls not up to speed.
