ASPIRING stud cattle breeders are being given an outstanding opportunity to buy the successful Raven Limousin stud as a going concern.
Upper South East breeders Penny and Jason Schulz will offer their entire pure bred herd along with their 2020-drop bulls, embryos and semen inventory, the Raven prefix and associated branding, as a package online next month.
Mr Schulz acknowledged the decision to disperse their stud after 13 years of hard work and dedication had surprised some in the industry but said it was a "strategic business decision".
"I appreciate there is a lot of tradition in the stud industry but we have always treated our entire farm as a business, our stud was an asset we built," he said.
"We have put commercial pressure on our cows having a calf each year and getting back in calf to ensure we have a highly productive asset for ourselves, that now gives us great confidence that what we are offering will perform for anyone taking it on."
The purchase of embryos from the Kensal Black Limousin dispersal in late 2007, kick started the Raven herd with these implanted into their commercial Angus and Murray Grey herd.
In the quest to grow the stud herd quickly the couple travelled to the United States in 2010 buying genetics from Hunt Limousin stud. This line has produced one of Raven stud's influential Ribbon cow families.
Top quality females have also been bought from several studs across Australia with embryo donor programs from their elite cows expanding the herd further.
"We believe we have created a functional herd that epitomises the high yielding attributes of the Limousin breed, but in addition has the inbuilt fat that ensures Raven genetics finish easily on grass," he said.
Mr Schulz said the timing was right to sell into a record-breaking cattle market bolstered by a good season across much of Australia.
They are hopeful the sale of the stud will enable them to buy more land in the next 12 to 18 months to expand their commercial livestock enterprises.
"We are quite aware that our (farm) scale isn't probably large enough for a husband and wife let alone our son or daughter or both to come home in the future," he said.
"Our kids are quite young so we have quite a while to plan but we want to be able to use the land asset that we purchase as well."
Ninety five Limousin females are included in the offering (35 mature cows with June 2021 and July 2021 drop calves, 26 first calving heifers and 30 15 month old heifers to be AIed in the first week of August ) as well as 35 yearling bulls and 21 embryo calves with recipient females.
As much as I probably wouldn't change the path we have taken there is something to be said about starting with an operating business.
- Jason Schulz, Raven stud principal
Mr Schulz hopes the "turn key opportunity" to secure the Raven stud will appeal to potential buyers, with the stud's extensive performance database, a Facebook page with more than 2300 followers, a website and mailing list of 400 plus breeders also included.
The demand for quality genetics has never been higher and Mr Schulz said the inclusion of the next two years of sale bulls will give the successful buyer a quick return on investment.
"As much as I probably wouldn't change the path we have taken there is something to be said about starting with an operating business," he said.
"For someone who buys our herd there is still room for them to add their own fingerprint and grow it themselves but they will be able to hold a bull sale or sell bulls fairly quickly and that comes with a client list as well rather than developing it over time.
"Breeding cattle is the easy part. It is developing the reputation, building the clientele and getting the cattle out there that is much harder."
Elders livestock sales manager Laryn Gogel said the "hard work had been done" with the Raven brand well recognised in the industry.
"This sale presents an amazing opportunity for someone to capitalise on the genetic power of the herd's performance data and progress it further into the future," he said.
Bidding for the Raven stud package will open on AuctionsPlus on Friday, August 13 at 1:30pm CST and will close on Sunday, August 15 at 3:30pm CST.
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