A TRADITION of buying The Land newspaper for more than four decades has paid off for one loyal Greystanes reader.
Daniel O'Connor, who buys "the bible of the bush" to keep up to date with issues such as feral pest control and market results, was overjoyed when he was named the winner of the Santa Gertrudis steers competition.
The competition gives one lucky reader the chance to take home half the proceeds from the sale of a pen of steers with the other half donated to the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service.
This year's pen of 12 steers was donated by Wilga Feedlot, Bellata, and was sold by Elders, Gunnedah at the Gunnedah prime cattle sale on Tuesday.
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Averaging 547.5 kilograms, the steers were purchased for the second year in a row by Coles for $2327 a head, or 425c/kg.
Unable to attend the sale due to COVID-19 restrictions, Mr O'Connor said he was thrilled to be picked out of thousands of entries.
"I've been buying the paper for 40-odd years and whenever there is a competition in there I usually fill out the form and send it off," Mr O'Connor told The Land.
"However, I have never won anything before, so it was a really nice surprise.
"I was a bit disappointed with all this lockdown stuff because I would have loved to have been in Gunnedah to which them sell, but still it is really pleasing to have won."
Santa Gertrudis Australia president Ian Maccue, whose operation donated the steers, said the competition was growing more popular every year.
"This competition originally started in Queensland about 20 years ago and has been running with The Land for about 12 years or so," Mr Maccue said.
"I dare say, this is one of the most popular competitions around and it is really pleasing to see the entry numbers grow every year.
"Santas are performing really strongly at saleyards across the country at the moment, so it is really pleasing to see people looking to reap the rewards through a competition like this."
Mr Maccue said he was confident the competition would only continue to grow in the future.
"From an association point of view, our members are really appreciative of being able to have the association with The Land because it is a well-respected institution," he said.
"All of the Santa stud sales begin in northern NSW from next Tuesday, so the competition is a great way to kick off what should hopefully be a stellar season."
The competition is supported by the NSW Santa Gertrudis Sales Groups, Elders Gunnedah, Wilga Feedlot and Martin Transport.
Participating Santa Gertrudis sales groups include: Watasanta, Benelkay, Yulgilbar, Dennegal, Spring Creek, Hardigreen Park, Jarrah Park, Kilcock, Munnabah and Rockingham.
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Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
