Three studs will make their debut in this year's Ausmectin Northern Beef Week.
Swanvale Herefords, Winton
DAY 3
PETER, Karen and Glen Weller have been regular participants in beef week, visiting other studs, but this year will be their first as exhibitors.
Swanvale Herefords, at Winton, near Tamworth, will have heifers and core breeding stock on display, along with three bulls which will be available through the Glen Innes Whiteface mutli-vendor sale on July 26, and 12 young bulls which will be available next year.
"We've had the stud for about 15 years, and we've always gone to other studs, but we've never done an open day of our own," Mrs Weller said.
Mrs Weller said the stud was focused on breeding cattle with good temperament, weight for age, carcase and maternal traits such as high fertility and easy calving.
"Our fundamental aim is to produce soft easy-doing cattle with structural soundness and long deep-bodied cattle with plenty of thickness.
"We also focus on producing cattle to perform well on grass, to ensure that they will perform well in any herd under any conditions."
Three Way Speckle Park, Nundle
DAY 3
NEIL and Glenda Gorrell, Three Way Speckle Parks, will make their beef week debut this year, showcasing bulls, heifers and genetic packages
The Nundle stud has had plenty of success over the past few years, and it continued that run with a successful on-farm sale in April 2019 with heifers reaching $16,500 twice.
The stud, one of the first for the breed in Australia, was established in 2010, and holds the national record for a heifer, with Three Way Graceland's NGL M27 selling for $32,000 at Scone in 2018 .
"Producing bulls using first class genetics from Australia and Canada for the stud and commercial breeder, our animals are bred tough and bred to work," Mr Gorrell said.
Promised Land Angus and Speckle Park, Bellingen
DAY 7
BEEF week visitors will get to visit the promised land with the Bellingen-based stud of the same name hosts its first Northern Beef Week open day.
Promised Land Angus, established in 2012 with foundation females from KO and DSK Angus studs, will have its entire Angus herd on display, including breeders, replacement females, weaner bulls and 20 sale bulls.
Also on show will be the first drop of 18 Speckle Park embryo calves, including many with Codiak Acres bloodlines.
Alister Dieckmann, who manages the 283-hectare property, Sweetwater, for Ian Oatley, said the operation, which includes 40 cows and 40 recipient females, had focused on strong maternal lines, while producing cattle ready to perform on pasture.
"We want superior growth rates with carcase quality at the end, low birthweight, plenty of growth, and good carcase attributes - fat cover, intramuscular fat and eye muscle area," Mr Dieckmann said.
"Our entire herd including sale bulls are raised purely on pasture with no additional supplementation."
Four studs are returning to Northern Beef Week this year.
Killain Angus, Tamworth
DAY 3
KILLAIN Angus is returning to Northern Beef Week for 2019, and will have yearling bulls on display, including the first sons of S A V Raindance 6848, a full brother to S A V President 6847, the sire of the world record $US1.5 million bull S A V America 8018.
Stud principal Richard Duddy said he'd also be showcasing some of the Tamworth stud's females and sires, including the 2019 Sydney intermediate champion bull Killain Mustang N4; the 2016 Hordern Trophy winning bull, Killain Alaska K18; and the 2017 junior and grand champion bull at Royal Melbourne Show, Killain Fort Worth M17.
Killain Angus was established in 2013 and is based entirely on the genetics of the world-renowned Angus stud Schaff Angus Valley in North Dakota.
"Our breeding objectives include explosive early growth as the producer is paid by cents per kilo, unparalleled temperament, structural soundness and for cattle that will meet all markets," Mr Duddy said.
Sugarloaf Angus, Dungog
DAY 6
SUGARLOAF Angus, based near Dungog, is opening its farm gates in the lead up to the stud's third on-property sale on August 3.
Stud principal Jim Tickle said he'd have all sale bulls, Angus and Black Simmental, on display. The fifth-generation beef producer has been breeding Angus cattle since 1980, concentrating on heavy, easy doing, structurally correct quiet cattle.
"Weaners by Sugarloaf Angus bulls consistently top weaner sales across the Hunter Valley. We believe extra weight is the best premium of all in any market."
This year's sale includes 60 stud bulls and commercial heifers.
Waratah Speckle Park, Guyra
DAY 1
WARATAH Speckle Park stud's sale bulls will be on show for beef week, including sons of Legacy Bone Crusher, CN Zpotz Zazu, and JSF Continental.
Also on display will be a group of pregnancy-tested-in-calf females, which will be available for private sale.
Stud principal Laiton Turnham said sale bulls, to be offered at the Guyra stud's on-property sale on August 12, will be Breedplan recorded for the first time, and the sale line-up will include yearling and two-year-old bulls as well as stud heifers.
Mr Turnham and his father Eric have grown the enterprise from a small start-up with the importation of 30 Speckle Park embryos in 2008, to one of the largest Speckle Park studs in Australia. The stud uses embryos and semen from leading sires in Canada, and is a sought-after supplier of Speckle Park genetics.
Goonoo Red Angus, Tamworth
DAY 3
TAMWORTH stud Goonoo Red Angus was established in 2008, from proven cow lines sourced from BST and Trevone Park, and later, top quality females from the Rockridge breeding herd, with the South Australian stud's dispersal in 2016.
Goonoo stud principal Graham Jordan is returning to Northern Beef Week after a two-year break, and will have eight sale bulls on display, which are sired by K5X Jackpot, the 2015 EKKA champion of champions; or the grand champion bull at the 2016 Royal Adelaide Show and the 2017 Sydney Royal Easter Show senior champion bull, Goonoo Chuck Kenny K14.
Goonoo, Yallambee and other selected studs, will have superior females and genetics available at the Red Reflection sale in April 2020.
"Goonoo has been on display at the major northern shows this season as well as Sydney Royal and Northern Beef Week is an ideal promotional tool to display the Goonoo Red Angus team," Mr Jordan said.