BLACKROCK Angus will offer 66 Angus bulls, including 10 yearling bulls, at its annual bull sale at Boyanup on Thursday, February 22, 2018.
The line-up of Blackrock bulls offers a mix of new and proven bloodlines that focus on moderate birthweight, good growth, carcase and docility.
Blackrock stud principal Ken MacLeay said a feature of this year’s sale would be the bulls by new sires Granite Ridge Thomas and Power Tool.
“Granite Ridge Thomas is an Australian bred bull recommended to improve growth, increase fat cover, fertility and docility,” Ken said.
“This bull is well suited to grass-based production systems and we think progeny will do well in our WA conditions.”
Power Tool is another new bull to Blackrock’s breeding program even though he has been used widely overseas and has built a solid reputation for breeding efficient and functional females.
“This sire will provide progeny with good growth while limiting the mature size of his females,” Ken said.
Pathfinder Genesis is another new bull for the Blackrock herd after being used in 46 herds across Australia.
Pathfinder Genesis is a trait leader for growth, scrotal circumference and fertility measured in days to calving, with positive fat and in the top 10 per cent of the breed for docility.
Booroomooka Galileo is another new bull with progeny in this year’s sale.
Galileo is a bull with plenty of length, combining low birthweight and good temperament and was selected after excelling in the Angus Sire Benchmarking program.
Esslemont Lotto is another bull out of this program and is a Western Australian-bred bull derived from crossing two well-known sires Berkley and Regent.
Connealy Final Product is a bull to use to add fat and is well suited for finishing progeny off grass.
It has built a reputation as a sire of outstanding thickness and muscle shape and will produce females that grow quickly, but with a moderate frame for females retained for breeding.
Docility data is provided on all Blackrock sale bulls.
Ken said this highly heritable trait could provide big benefits to breeding herds.
“Apart from ease of handling, cattle that don’t stress have the potential to achieve higher growth and fertility,” he said.
Blackrock have been collecting docility scores on all progeny for seven years.
More than 1800 docility scores have been submitted by the stud and form the basis of the score for each sale bull.
The Blackrock sale team average in the top 25pc of the breed for this important trait.
Blackrock’s sale catalogue will include an Angus Breeding Index on each bull which places a comparative economic value.
This index takes into account all measured traits and presents a dollar difference expected on returns from progeny.
“It is a valuable selection guide when comparing bulls within the breed against others from different environments, “ Ken said.
All Blackrock bulls are vaccinated for Vibrio, Pestigard, 7in1 and passed a semen test.
Full catalogue details are available online at blackrockangus.com.au
