The Ward family’s long-standing connection to the Goondiwindi district stretches back to 1902, when they first began farming in the region.
Today, their property “Mooroobie”, located just five kilometres south-east of Goondiwindi on the banks of the Macintyre River, operates as a mixed irrigated farming and stud cattle enterprise.
In 1995, Lindsay and Helen Ward founded Mooroobie Angus stud, driven by a deep passion for the Angus breed and a commitment to producing beef of the highest quality.
Every mating in their 200-plus registered Angus herd is carefully planned, with sires meticulously selected to ensure structural soundness, fertility and superior eating quality.
The results speak for themselves, with Mooroobie progeny consistently meeting – and exceeding – the demands of feedlotters, abattoirs and premium beef consumers.
Reliability, longevity and quality remain the cornerstones of the stud and these values are reflected in the impressive lineup for their annual bull sale in September.
One repeat buyer bragged recently that he’d had a Mooroobie bull for 11 years and he was still mating more than his share.
This year’s catalogue features:
Angus: 36 in total made up of 14 two-year-old bulls and 27 aged 16–17 months, 10 two-year-olds and 26 16-17 months old.
Wagyu: Nine in total made up of two 24-month-old bulls and seven aged 16–17 months, two 2-year-olds and eight 16-17 months old.
An open day will be held at Mooroobie on Tuesday, 10 September, giving potential buyers the chance to inspect the sale team in person.
The sale itself will take place online via AuctionsPlus from 11am on Wednesday, 17 September.
Stud principal Lindsay Ward said this year’s Angus offering is their most consistent yet, with both Igenity and Breedplan data recorded for each animal.
“This gives buyers the opportunity to select bulls with the most to offer their herd,” Mr Ward said.
“Igenity indexes for maternal, production, and carcase traits – such as stayability, average daily gain, feed conversion, tenderness, and marbling – are available for every Angus bull in the catalogue.”
The Wagyu offering includes nine bulls in total, sired predominantly by Auribal United – currently ranked as the highest indexing Wagyu bull in Australia.
ABS describes United as “perhaps the best combination bull in the Wagyu breed today”, ranking in the top five per cent for growth, carcass weight, marbling fineness and all financial indexes.
On the Angus side, genetics feature leading sires including Dunoon Recharge R102, Landfall Mainland Q494, Booroomooka Paragon and Patriarch. Most of the younger bulls are by sires that have already proven their worth in both commercial and stud herds.
Independent assessor Dick Whale of IBMS, Wangaratta, has graded the majority of the bulls at Grade seven (with eight being the maximum for structural and phenotypic excellence). One of the younger sires is Grade eight, the highest grade.
Feeding programs have been tailored to suit each age group, with older bulls grazing Kracken forage barley with corn silage, while younger bulls have been on a custom ration developed by animal nutritionist Vincent Posada.
Mr Ward said buyers could expect long lasting bulls that were structurally sound, fertile and bred to produce beef highly sought after by the market.
“This is the most even line we’ve ever offered,” he said. “Whether you’re chasing Angus or Wagyu genetics, there’s something in this catalogue that will make a real impact on your herd.”
