The Fitzroy Crossing Bull Sale is truly a one-of-a-kind event.

While Bulls Sales are a dime a dozen in the Eastern States, the Fitzroy Crossing Sale is the only bull sale in Northern Western Australia.

This is because the majority of cattle in the pastoral regions of Western Australia are commercial cattle, bred to go direct to market. There are very few cattle studs in the pastoral region, so when pastoralists want to improve their herd genetics, they often have to source herd bulls from the Eastern States – mostly Queelsand, which runs similar breeds in similar environments to northern WA. This means that pastoralists often have to travel to Queensland and inspect bulls on various properties, and then have the bulls trucked back to WA. As you can imagine, there are a huge number of cattle studs on the East Coast – how would you even know where to start?

The Fitzroy Crossing Bull Sale began over a decade ago, with the aim of bringing quality bulls directly to pastoralists in the Kimberley region of WA. The bulls are selected by an impressive team of people, including livestock agents who live and breathe the Kimberley cattle industry, and know exacrtly what their clients are looking for, and a great man by the name of Jimmy Edwards who spent many years flying in the Kimberley and Pilbara, as well as running his own stations, and also knows what type of cattle will do well in the regions.

Each year the event continues to grow, and this year was no different, with total sales exceeding one million dollars. This year also boasted the highest number of registered bidders, including a number from the Northern Territory and Queensland, and a record price of $20,000.

I attended the event and had a quick chat to Jim Edwards, who started the sale all those years ago, Andrew Stewart – one of the livestock agents and auctioneers who runs the event each year, and Rusty Cook, one of the many buyers.