Proud moment as bid sets record for family’s Charolais stud

• Published date: 05 July 2023
• Publication title: Central Rural Life

A two-way contest developed for the bull between breeding syndicates until a surprise stand by a commercial farmer forced one of them to make one more bid

Leading up to that morning the Fisher family of Maureen, son Brent and his wife Anna had little inkling that Silverstream Spectra S184 would set a national record price for the breed and a personal best for them.

That was until they saw the two parties lining up at their Silverstream Charolais and Hereford stud’s on-farm sale at Lochlea property near Canterbury’s Lake Ellesmere and recognised something special was happening.

Bidding between them looked to have peaked at $60,000 until the commercial under-bidder, who’d dropped out earlier on, re-entered for a final stab. It was pure theatre.

Onlookers wondered if yet another Australian stud had pulled a last-minute ploy, but this wasn’t the case.

In the end Lot 3 in the catalogue went to a syndicate of Hemingford Sheep and Cattle Genetics, Twin River Charolais and Australian stud Palgrove Charolais after they had to dig deeper in their pockets.

Brent and Anna Fisher agree that Bruce’s eyes would’ve lit up if he’d been there and he would have revelled in the twists and turns of the heated auction.

Until the day he died in January he continued to follow the stud’s progress with the same enthusiasm as the day he and Maureen started it in 1968.

‘‘I would pick him up and we would always go around the bulls,’’ Mr Fisher said.

‘‘This year’s crop, he just thought they were a great line of bulls. It wasn’t just the top-selling bull — he thought they overall were a tremendous lineup.’’

‘‘That would’ve just been the highlight for him,’’ Mrs Fisher said.

‘‘Brent’s mother was there and she’s always had a huge involvement with her and Bruce always going on a South Island visit to the bull buyers and clients and they loved that. The sale meant so much for her because she knew the people and she was sad Bruce wasn’t there and cried when that bull sold. And number three was Bruce’s favourite number.’’

THE stud founder would also have appreciated the milestone for the younger Fishers’ work to breed polled Charolais.

This was the first year that all the bulls in the catalogue were polled and the 53-strong lineup were all sold. The 57 registered buyers attending live and 27 online buyers was their highest turnout.

Mr Fisher says they’ve slowly worked towards polled breeding as they didn’t want to rush it at the expense of the basics and other traits.

Red-coloured Spectra is...