The 2019 Dectomax National Shorthorn Show and Sale, which will be held on June 11-12 at Dubbo Showground, marks a special milestone this year.
More than 30 exhibitors have entered 131 bulls and 13 females in the 60th annual sale.
Judge Peter Falls has a long history with the sale. His father sold bulls at the second sale ever held.
"They sold them outside and everyone stood around," he said. "He had the last bull in the catalogue one day and it was that dark you could hardly see the crowd and the bull made a lot of money."
It is hard to access good Shorthorn females. No one wants to sell them because they are a great product.
- Peter Falls
Peter, who is based at Finley and Hay, is the third generation in his family to breed Shorthorns. He believes the breed is on an upward trajectory, describing Shorthorns as "survivors".
"We have had some severe droughts in 1982, 2002 and 2017, and that's probably caused the loss of a lot of our western division herds, because they destocked," he said. "It is hard to access good Shorthorn females. No one wants to sell them because they are a great product."
Peter has judged at Charolais and Limousin feature shows in Melbourne and Sydney, many royal shows, in every state of Australia and in Canada at the 2016 Alberta Farm Fair.
"We are very commercially focused in our operation, which is what I look for," he said. "I also look for structurally sound cattle that can walk. In a lot of country they have to cover vast distances. The do-ability of the Shorthorn breed speaks for itself, but it's an important factor to select for."
