Brett Nobbs, left, with new NCC herd owner Ray Vella, centre, and GDL Rockhampton manager Josh Heck. Picture: Kent Ward, KB Consulting

IN one of the largest seedstock herd transactions in recent history, prominent Central Queensland Brahman bull breeder Brett Nobbs has sold his NCC Grey Brahman herd to Proserpine region commercial and stud Brahman breeders, Ray and Leah Vella.

Mr Nobbs recently announced his intention to disperse his NCC herd at auction in June, but the Vella family, based at Breadalbane Plains north of Mackay, made a strong pre-sale offer for the entire herd.

Pre-auction interest was also shown by other bull breeders, but this never got to a formal offer stage, Beef Central was told.

While no price was disclosed, the number of cattle involved and the elite nature of the NCC seedstock herd suggests the price may well have been the largest paid for a  seedstock enterprise in Australia since the $10 million sale of Chris Walker’s Westholme Wagyu Fullblood herd to the Australian Agricultural Co 15 years ago.

NCC holds the national record price for Brahman bulls sold at auction, receiving $325,000 for NCC Justified when bought by Rodger and Lorena Jefferis’ Elrose Brahman Stud, Cloncurry at the NCC on-property sale in 2017.

Last year’s NCC on-property sale neat Duaringa was (like all others) impacted by lower market forces, averaging about $10,200 for 73 bulls. However a year earlier, 89 bulls averaged almost $18,600.

GDL Rockhampton branch manager Josh Heck negotiated the sale, which involved some 800 lots, including around 350 registered stud females, leading sires, calves and young bulls, semen and embryos. Some of the embryos were direct full American Grey Brahman imports, from some of the best genetics in North America.

The transaction did not include the NCC prefix.

Mr Heck said Mr Nobbs would continue to breed commercial cattle through his Nobbs Cattle Co, after electing to move out of the stud industry. Young grower cattle have already been purchased to fill paddocks previously occupied by the stud cattle, he said.

Some years Mr Nobbs sold his fledging Simmental stud herd, having purchased the Mobbs family’s Gowrie Simmental herd as the basis some years earlier. He also paid a Simmental breed record $160,000 for Woonallee Los Angeles in 2017 to lay the platform for his Simmental venture.

A decade or more ago, Mr Nobbs and his family also sold their original Cungelella Droughtmaster stud, one of the pre-eminent Droughtmaster bull producers in the country, to the Childs family from Glenlands, Bouldercombe. Again, no price was disclosed.

New owners of the NCC herd, the Vella family, have bred Brahman bulls for their own commercial requirements for ten years or more, but the purchase of the NCC herd represented a major expansion into commercial bull breeding, Mr Heck said.

“It’s great to see two good cattle-minded people come to a great arrangement to secure the future of the herd,” he said. “It’s a great achievement for all parties involved, the Brahman breed and certainly cements and lays the foundation and future for the Vella family.”

Mr Nobbs said he was grateful that the NCC herd had been sold in its entirety to a great family.

“I admire their vision. It’s a masterful stroke in that the stud has not been fragmented. I believe that selling in its entirety is a better outcome for the breed. It remains a strong entity, a more powerful genetic source as a parcel.”

Ray and Leah Vella and their children, Kurt, Kayla and Beau operate their commercial herd, stud and cane operation on the 4046ha (10,000 acres) Breadalbane Plains.

“We’re a young passionate family dedicated to breeding quality cattle. I’ve had the opportunity to travel the world looking at cattle programs and systems. I have complete faith in the Brahman breed and I’ve come to the conclusion that the Brahman is one of the best, most functional, low input breeds we have at our disposal,” Mr Vella said.

“In purchasing the entire NCC herd we’ve fast tracked our programme, this instantly takes our herd to the next level,” he said.

“The Nobbs family has afforded us the opportunity of a lifetime in the wholesale purchase of the herd.”

Mr Vella indicated that his family will conduct their own annual production sale in the spring in the future.