EXCLUSIVE: IN A coup for South Australian beef genetics, in particular the Droughtmaster breed, a consignment of cattle will leave Victor Harbor today bound for Samoa.
Thirty registered Droughtmaster heifers and 10 registered bulls from Bob and Marie McQueen's Marosa stud are on their way to quarantine in Orange, NSW, before making the final leg of their journey by air in mid-April.
The cattle are part of a consignment of Droughtmasters and Dorper sheep which have been purchased by the Samoan Ministry of Agriculture to boost existing breeding programs in the Oceania country.
The importation project - facilitated by Angus Adnam, AAA Livestock Services Pty Ltd, Brisbane - has been funded by a grant from the World Bank through the Samoa Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Project, worth US$13 million, which started in May 2012.
A statement from the World Bank said agriculture played an important role in the Samoan economy, employing about two-thirds of the national labour force and supporting 18,000 rural households.
"This project will help improve the country's agriculture sector which has underperformed in the last decade," World Bank senior rural development specialist Kofi Nouve said.
"The SACEP supports the implementation of Samoa's Agriculture Sector Plan (2011-15) and will contribute to the plan's objectives of increased food and income security by 2015 and enhanced private sector capacity in improving productivity, value addition and marketing.
"The project's focus on developing long-term, sustainable solutions for livestock sector challenges is a first for Samoa and will prove crucial to improving future stock bloodlines.
"Cattle numbers are declining in Samoa, the import of high quality animals is expected to strengthen the country's cattle breeding program, stop the decline and build back the national herd size."
Samoan Ministry of Agriculture representative Agnes Meredith and consultant Tim Harvey, New Zealand, have just finished selecting the 33 registered heifers, 13 registered bulls, 10 registered ewes and four registered rams in a whirlwind trip across three states.
Cattle were selected from Marosa, Climate Masta stud in Euroa, Vic, and Maruk Droughtmasters, Orange, NSW, while sheep came from Burrawang West, Ootha, NSW, and Auskape, White Rock, NSW.
The animals will be flown out of Sydney Airport on a Qantas 767 freighter direct to the Samoan capital, Apia, in mid-April.
"The supply of Droughtmasters is upgrading existing genetics in Samoa, as are the sheep," said Mr Adnam.
"They will be benefiting the small farmers in Samoa, who are looking forward to the importation project for years to come, as seedstock herds will be set up to supply genetics to Samoans."
Selection of stock included animals which fit Samoan importation protocols, in particular bluetongue-free zones for cattle, which is why southern cattle had been sourced.
"The buyers were really happy to be able to see what are essentially Qld genetics in SA," Mr Adnam said.
The Marosa stud - which has been established for 30 years - is the only Droughtmaster stud in SA.
In 2002, the McQueens moved to SA from Richmond, Qld, to be closer to family.
They brought with them their nucleus of breeders, which numbers about 150.
"They arrived in July straight off the Mitchell grass country in the middle of the fierce SA winter, and acclimatised immediately on the heavy grey soil country grassed with clover," Mr McQueen said.
"Droughtmasters don't bloat, and at no stage did they seem to go backwards."
While the Droughtmaster breed is still an emerging market in SA, the McQueens sell their bulls to the NT through the Alice Springs bull sale as well as privately.
Mr McQueen said the Samoan consignment was "good for the breed" and he looked forward to watching its progression.