A dedicated approach to match the right sire with the right female through studying pedigrees has taken Granite Ridge stud to the forefront of the Angus breed.
Earlier this year, Avenue Range breeders Colin Flanagan and Patricia Ebert smashed the SA on-property bull sale record with Granite Ridge Kaiser K26 selling for $52,000.
Kaiser was bought by Alan and Jan Robinson, Jarobee stud, Beechworth, Vic, and Rennie, NSW, who have used their new sire extensively.
There have also been strong semen sales through Genetics Australia’s catalogue in Australia and New Zealand.
Granite Ridge has attracted stud interest from across Australia for its phenotype and high performance figures for several years but Mr Flanagan says their ninth annual sale was the highlight in 15 years of breeding Angus.
“In NSW you see sales go off but we never thought an Angus would make that sort of money in SA,” he said.
He said the bull was from proven bloodlines being a son of Te Mania Foe which Mr Flanagan credits as having the biggest positive influence in their herd.
Kaiser’s dam was one of the stud’s top females and was sired by Nichols Quiet Lad – a US bull which has also “clicked” in the herd.
Mr Flanagan says Kaiser was a stand out even as a calf for its docility and early growth.
“As it got going it was always the top bull in his contemporary group and it just kept growing into an outstanding bull with top 1 per cent growth and carcase figures,” he said.
Granite Ridge runs 400 Herd Book Recorded females on its 810-hectare property in SA’s South East.
Artificial insemination has given the stud a strong lift with every female involved in a fixed time heat program to leading sires each year.
Mr Flanagan says good conformation is everything particularly foot and leg structure which he says has “fallen away” in the breed.
“If they can’t walk they can’t eat and if they can’t eat they die – it’s that simple,” he said.
“We are big on pedigree and don’t buy a bull without going back five or six generations to make sure there is nothing structurally weak in there.”
Weight for age is another key trait.
“We get paid for weight so we are looking for explosive 200-and 400-day growth and to a lesser extent 600 days with ease of calving,” he said.
“Low birthweight estimated breeding values are not everything though. We have no hesitation using a 6 or 6.5 over our heifers as long as they (the bulls) are the right conformation.”
Last year Granite Ridge bought another property to buy and run about 600 weaner steers from their commercial clients each year.
Mr Flanagan is excited about their 2017 sale offering, describing the 70 bulls to be offered in February as their best line-up yet.
“You never know but we think we might have found one in the paddock just as good as Kaiser, too,” he said.
