The myriad of Speckle Park Sales during the Autumn was a great time to add to the Te Mooi sire roster. We were fortunate to secure three new bulls that will take up residence here in Londrigan. We are always on the lookout for individuals that can add to our breeding program and we certainly found them. Our search is not for the perfect bull, or “the greatest”, according to whoever. We don’t believe the perfect bull exists. We look for bulls to do a job. Bulls are like golf clubs. Sometimes you need a driver and sometimes you need a sand wedge.
Our program has been built on a strong foundation of structural soundness, temperament and fertility. Layered on top of that have been high-performance sires like Minnamurra Leander L81, JAD Nutcracker N22, Minnamurra Pageant P216, Minnamurra Plunderer P196, Promised Land Eldorado and JAD Quinella Q21. It has left us with a herd that has excellent growth and wonderful carcase quality. The results of our program have been plain to see in the real world. Last year a group of 68 steers by our herd sires were processed and their performance was staggering. They gained 1.91 kgs per day for 100 days, they had 100% MSA compliance and scored up to 66.63, averaging 63.87.
Grading as high as they did puts them in the top echelon of animals processed in Victoria and NSW. Just how well they did is highlighted when compared to the steers presented at the recent Royal Sydney Show. Of the 64 steers exhibited in the hoof and hook competition, only one achieved a higher MSA grading than the lowest-scoring steer by the Te Mooi sire battery. In fact, 56 of the 68 steers we had processed had a higher MSA grade than the winner of the virtual taste test, which is assessed on MSA scores. Our breeding program is really producing results.
There is one quality which one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it.
Napoleon Hill
Additions to our program are considered very carefully. We eliminate as much risk as we can by acquiring bulls we have inspected ourselves or by trusted experienced assessors. Bulls must be performance recorded and be from families that have proven breeding records and consistently produce quality stock. We don’t search for outcross pedigrees – the gene pool is big enough to swim in the deep, tried and true, proven end.
We acquired two bulls from the emerging Alinjarra program. Alinjarra Sunset Peak S016 is by HS Untapped, the highest IMF% bull to come out of Canada. Interestingly his sire, A&W 15R, is number two. Sunset Peak’s dam is the acclaimed Three Way Gracelands, who has had progeny sell to $70,000. She, of course, is a daughter of the wonderful Codiak Unique 8R, a tremendous influence in our program. At the time of writing Sunset Peak is one of only two bulls born in 2021 to be in the top 1% of the breed for IMF%, and not sired by Maungahina Kidmans Cove. The other is Te Mooi Supernova S49, who has taken up residence at Minnamurra.
Alinjarra Sunset Peak S016
Sunset Peak is also in the top 10% of the breed for birth weight, is homozygous polled, homozygous black, a myostatin non-carrier, and is Leptin T/T. He is very well-made with excellent foot angle, heal, and a well-set hind leg. He is deep and soft and has an excellent unmanipulated temperament. The combination of low birth weight, exceptional IMF%, temperament and structure made Sunset Peak a must-have addition to the Te Mooi program.
Alinjarra Scotch On Ice S154 is also taking up residence in Londrigan. This son of Spots ‘N Sprouts Stands Alone is a tremendous growth and yield sire, with short gestation length and excellent scrotal size. He is well-mannered and easy to work with, has excellent structure and comes from a deep proven female line. His dam is a prolific producer, his granddam, Three Way Glen-Rose, has a very good breeding record, and her dam is Codiak Unique 8R.
The third addition, surprise of all surprises, is a show bull. I must however confirm that his show ring performance played no role in our decision to acquire him. Jackungah Silencer S53 is a low birth-weight, short gestation length bull with about breed average carcase quality. He is moderate, with enough length, has well-set hind legs, and, as a great judge once told me, he has pleasing angles. Silencer’s female line traces directly to Mary Lindsay’s original cow through Spots ‘N Sprouts 6A, the dam of Spots ‘N Sprouts Juno, the sire of Star Bank Lacerta. His grandam is the acclaimed Jackungah Koda K01 who had a significant show career.
Jackungah Silencer S53
Silencer’s sire, Ravensworth Invictus, also had a storied show career and has left plenty of successful show ring progeny. Once his progeny have been assessed in Australia, he has been found to be short gestation length and low birth-weight. In the show ring himself Silencer S53 is unbeaten against his own age. A winner at Melbourne Royal and crowned Intermediate Champion Bull at the Royal Sydney Feature Show, where he defeated the $90,000 bull Six Star Found The Fame, Silencer S53 could not have performed better. He is at Te Mooi for his deep family, his short gestation length and his low birth-weight.
The new kids on the block will add to our backup bull power who will cover after two rounds of AI. Sunset Peak and Silencer will both be used over the heifers and first calvers and we look forward to the arrival of their progeny.