- Taking Stock is a weekly opinion piece written by The Land journalists. The thoughts expressed are their own.
You head to the newsagent to pick up the paper and sprawled on the front page is the latest record price bull.
His name is in bright lights, semen enquiries have gone through the roof and everyone wants a piece of the action.
Usually the bull's phenotype is impeccable, his figures are sky-high and he was described in the catalogue as "a bull you won't see ever again".
But when he boards the truck and heads to his new home, you never hear about him again.
If history is anything to go by, you'd have a better chance of winning the lottery than seeing a record price bull recouping his value.
Such a high price tag comes with an even higher level of expectations.
Last year the $325,000 record price bull NCC Justified, who sold in 2017 to Rodger and Lorena Jefferis, Elrose, Queensland, left everyone's jaw on the floor when his highly anticipated first progeny actually lived up to the hype.
Seven sons sold to average $52,286 and top at $160,000 while five heifers averaged $17,000 to top at $30,000.
The same can't be said for all of the country's most expensive bulls though.
Three years ago I was sifting through bull sale archives to uncover a list of the country's dearest bulls for a story for Queensland Country Life.
But rather than stop there, I wanted to get in touch with the purchasers of these record breaking sires to find out what really happened to them when the spotlight faded and the real test began out in the paddock.
Some of them broke their leg fighting, or were bitten by a snake and had to put down while a very few successfully bred on to their same high standard.
This year, bull sales aren't going to get any cheaper and the one-off sires that cracked the $100,000 mark are far from a rarity nowadays.
Does the most money equate for good progeny though?
How many times have you heard an underbidder say," well I must be a good judge" because other people went toe-to-toe with him to a high price.
However the best judge could arguably be the producer that can find a hidden gem in the catalogue, one that he knows will complement his herd, but maybe not everybody's. He knows his breeding objectives and sets out with a clear shopping list that isn't clouded by outside influences.
Take the Droughtmaster bull Billabong Kallum for example.
Wolfang stud master, Greg Edwards, from Wowan in Queensland paid just $2500 for the bull who went on to breed a $150,000 record breaking sire in 2007 known as Wolfang Fred-O.
The 25-month-old sire was one of 13 bulls (av $19,807) offered by the Edwards family late in the second day of selling with David and Anita Torrisi, Vitwood Droughtmasters, Pialba, Qld, outbidding the Hicks family, Billabong stud, Moura, Qld.
Unfortunately Kallum's time was short. A fight with another bull during his first season saw him injure himself and he was later put down.
Given Mr Edwards only collects semen from a bull after he has seen its calves, Wolfang only had a limited crop of natural calves to show for Kallum, including Fred-O.
In the end, Fred-O suffered the same fate as his father and passed away not long after the sale.
At least 21 progeny from Fred-O are registered with Droughtmaster Australia.
In the Hereford world, the Crowley family from Tycolah stud at Barraba found success when they paid $8000 for Karina Cherry Z8 at the 2006 Glen Innes Hereford Sale.
That bargain buy went on to be a "super sire" with 524 registered progeny across 32 herds.
He passed away in 2015 but not before going on to breed a host of top stock including the $80,000 Tycolah Jovial F77 who was the 2021 Sydney Royal Easter Show's Urquhart Trophy winner for best beef cattle exhibit as a 21-month-old.
The list goes on; the $2000 Monreid P Express went on to breed the $28,000 Cootharaba Middelton, the $18,000 Cootharaba Meteor and the $20,000 Cootharaba Ogilvie.
The best value lies in a bull that lets his progeny do the talking.
His phenotype might not be impeccable, his figures don't quite reach the sky and he doesn't have much of a description.
Maybe you don't need the biggest budget to have a success story worthy of a front page.
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Lucy Kinbacher
Raised on a cattle property at Biggenden, Lucy Kinbacher has spent 10 years working across metropolitan, regional and rural publications in both Queensland and NSW. Lucy has been the editor of the Queensland Country Life and North Queensland Register since 2021.
Raised on a cattle property at Biggenden, Lucy Kinbacher has spent 10 years working across metropolitan, regional and rural publications in both Queensland and NSW. Lucy has been the editor of the Queensland Country Life and North Queensland Register since 2021.
