Desert cattle trucked 3,000km to new home near Dubbo

It has been a busy week for undoubtedly one of Australia’s most distant cattle stations.

Suplejack Living in the Tanami Desert space of the Northern Territory trucked 18 decks of female cattle to a purchaser near Dubbo in New South Wales — in a deal price nearly $400,000.

This used to be no longer a customary sale for Suplejack, which in most cases targets the live export change out of Darwin.

But a call to sell 475 head by strategy of the on-line platform AuctionsPlus uncovered the desolate tract cattle to jap states investors having a gape to restock.

“Now we don’t have any longer in any respect equipped [cattle online] sooner than,” mentioned Suplejack supervisor Will Savage.

“But we thought we would give it a run and thought it can aid — you undoubtedly procure lots extra of us having a gape at them [when you sell online].

Shorthorn heifers from Suplejack fetched between $2.90 and $3.26 a kilogram, even as the Tanami-bred Brahmans fetched a miniature bit less, averaging $2.64 a kilogram. 

All up, the animals averaged about $820 every, delivered to Alice Springs.

The lengthy haul

The heavenly condition of the Tanami Boulevard intended it took 18 hours to truck the cattle 760 kilometres from Suplejack to Alice Springs.

It used to be then up to the purchaser to pay for the cattle to rest at yards near Alice Springs sooner than continuing their dawdle onto Warren near Dubbo in NSW.

All up, it is an fable 3,000km time out, with some of the cattle polishing off the closing leg of the dawdle this weekend.

The cost of freight and spelling added an extra $60 to $65 a head on top of the sale sign. 

A correct 300 and sixty five days forward

Will Savage mentioned the distant residing had a first price wet season with correct rainfall all the diagram in which thru December and January.

He mentioned with the weather, along with sizable cattle prices, it used to be shaping up to be a correct 300 and sixty five days. 

“It used to be appropriate herd administration. We wanted to set aside away with some cull heifers and build room for the following lot of calves coming on.”