Rich, red bulls offer finish

A FEATURE of the Sillwood Poll Shorthorn bull sale this year is the first offering of bulls in Tasmania by Sprys Down Under S77, purchased in conjunction with Heinwaka Shorthorns in New Zealand for $70,000 at the 2023 Sprys Bull Sale.

S77 is a thick solid red bull with good temperament and depth of body. 

His offspring share the same traits, with both bulls and heifers showing moderate frame with excellent early growth, with muscle, shape and even fat coverage. 

His first group of two-year- old heifers at Sillwood are currently calving. We believe they will become easy doing efficient cows, exhibiting moderate frame with excellent thickness and constitution ideally suited to our Tasmanian grass fed production system.

The sale will also feature a top draft of bulls by our two proven sires, Sprys Emperor Q114 and Yamburgan Perceus Q311. Both bulls have been successful sires at Sillwood, producing offspring with growth, weight and finishing ability.

This year is also the last draft of bulls by Royalla Theo, who has consistently bred sound structure, good udders and marbling.

The Sillwood breeding program places strong emphasis on the critical maternal traits of fertility and calving ease, with females required to calve unassisted from two years of age and raise a calf every year. 

Growth and carcase traits are selected in conjunction with maternal traits to allow both us and our clients to produce suitable feeder and finished steers for the Tasmanian grass fed programs. These animals must be quiet, easy to handle, and grow, finish and marble well. 

Performance recording is an important part of our breeding program, with large contemporary groups maximising the accuracy of performance data. The process starts with calves being weighed at birth, with further weights taken at the weaning and yearling stage. All sale bulls and retained heifers are scanned for muscle, fat and marbling.