Boonaroo Angus is excited to introduce five new powerhouse sires into its sale line-up this year, after investing in the country’s best bulls, purchased exclusively to provide clients with the best outcross and the most versatile genetics available.
Shane and Jodie Foster, with children Tom and Claire, started the Boonaroo Angus breeding program back in 2003, concentrating on structure and phenotype, retaining females which thrive in the stud’s sandy soils, with good feet and temperament number one on the ‘must have’ list.
“We’re really conscious of catering for those clients who support the annual weaner sales and are grass finishing in the paddocks, to meet modern markets,” Jodie said.
“We aim to breed bulls with strong phenotype, soft, deep, with structural strength and docile temperament.
“We are focusing heavily on fat cover, muscling, and carcase quality in our 600 registered cows, combining these traits to produce cattle which can run at higher stocking rates without losing their ability to finish and be fertile.
“Our genetics aim to assist-grass finishing producers to breed an animal which can be efficiently finished year-round on grass.”
To meet the Fosters’ own high standards, Te Mania Reaves R574 (the $130,000 record priced son of Peru), Te Mania Resolution R970, Lawsons Quantum R652 ($26,000) and R238 ($40,000) and the curve bending Cluden Newry R214 ($50,000), have been added to Boonaroo’s sire battery.
“These are an outcross to mainstream bloodlines, offering new, fresh genetics of bulls that aim to increase market versatility (feedlots or grass finishing), feed efficiency, structural soundness and marbling without compromising type,” Jodie said.
“At Boonaroo we focus investment into genetics that make cattle versatile and suited to all markets.
“New genetics producing balanced bulls that can sire progeny which excel in MSA grading and compliance and at the same time excel in the paddock maternally.”
The majority of the 130 bulls in the 2025 sale group are ‘curve benders’ – they are 18-month-old bulls which offer calving ease without compromising growth and quality.
Generations of New Zealand genetics back through the cow herd, can be seen in the robust, sound, and deep-bodied line of bulls, many years of dedication to performance recording creates performance predictability and Boonaroo bulls are guaranteed sound and fertile.
Shane and Jodie said while the south-west’s green drought conditions this year created tough times for farmers across the board, Boonaroo was buoyed by support from a great team.
“We want to send a huge thank you and all the very best for the new year to our clients, our agents and everyone who has supported us in 2024; it has been one of the toughest years imaginable and it has brought to the fore the need for feed efficient cattle which respond quickly to feed and bounce back with vengeance,” Jodie said.
Outside of the sale ring, Boonaroo’s major focus is pre- and after-market service, with customer satisfaction their top priority.
“We want everyone to walk away from our sale with bulls and genetics that work for their environment and their production system,” Jodie said.
“Providing extensive genetic information on our bulls and working with clients up to the sale to identify their needs, then touching base with them when we deliver bulls, learning about their individual businesses and just chatting one-on-one, is something that we really enjoy in what we do.”
Boonaroo Angus can be found at Foster’s Lane, Corndale and Jodie and Shane can be contacted for information on 0475 239 687 or 0487 133 824.
Boonaroo will have its first field day at Clifton, Hamilton on Wednesday, January 29, where 40 sale bulls and 10 heifers will be displayed.
The SA Beef Week Field Day will be at Boonaroo on Tuesday, February 11, with all sale bulls and a heifer display.
The 21st Boonaroo Angus Sale is held at Boonaroo on February, 21, 2025; inspections from 9.30am, auction at 11.30am (VIC time).
