Bushfire pushes back bull sale but can't stop Brewers moving forward

It was 3.30pm, the hottest part of January 9, when an out of control bushfire, powered by its own microclimate, came roaring out of the state forest and "exploded" onto the Brewers' property at Koetong in Victoria.

Tara and David Brewer knew it was coming - they had watched the Walwa/Mount Lawson bushfire grow with intensity for days as it inched closer - but they could not have imagined that in just 40 minutes the blaze would travel the 8.6km from the highway to the back of their property leaving devastation in its wake.

"We got nuked," Mrs Brewer said. "Everything was on fire."

The entire 2,600 acres of pasture, farmland and fencing was scorched. Only two acres were saved, with the house, the yards and 900 head of cattle the stand that they took.

Eight brave people, including their sons Austin, 19, and Henry, 16, each worked a sector in pairs to push back the fire from the yards where the cattle were.

"We had five private fire units and about 6000 litres of water on hand," Mrs Brewer recalled.

A CFA strike team manned by local volunteers from Talgarno, Old Tallangatta, Eskdale and Tallangatta arrived about an hour before the fire and they looked after the house.

In a contentious move the strike team refused CFA instructions to leave the site. Thankfully the striketeam stood firm, saved the house and in the end the strike team was stranded at the property, due to fallen electricity wires on roads, and had to stay the night.

Then the next day, while still isolated at Koetong, the Brewer Beef sale cattle were under threat of bushfire in the Tallangatta Valley.

Mrs Brewer said friends swooped into action to prepare for another standoff with the flames, but the CFA did an amazing job keeping the fire in the tree line and far from approaching the bulls.

"Thankfully they weren't anywhere near the fire in the end," she said. "They've been enjoying the extra month's feed and will be enormous by the time they're sold."

The Koetong Angus/Brewer Beef Black Simmentals Bulls Sale has understandably been pushed back from its usual February date, and will now take place on Friday, March 13.

They will be offering 45 bulls in total, including six Angus bulls.

"We're always focused on easy calving and high growth rates and are totally fixated on good feet and legs. Every bull in the sale has amazing feet," Mrs Brewer said. She also said temperament was paramount for all their cattle.

The Brewers thanked all the volunteers and those who had supported them in the aftermath of the fire.

"It's been pretty overwhelming with the support we have had," she said. "A few clients have sent loads of hay and people who we have bred Simmentals alongside and the Angus community have been great."

She's still trying to source agistment, which is proving difficult for stud cattle.

in amoung it all the Brewers have kept moving their business forward, including finalising long-held plans to purchase Woonallee Global V520 PP from Woonallee Simmentals earlier this month.

What they hadn't planned was the purchase being a record for Australian Black Simmentals.

The spring-drop bull was purchased for $70,000 at the annual production sale. The 17.5-month-old sire weighed 826kg and attracted strong competition before being knocked down for the new national record price.

The $70,000 result eclipses the previous record of $67,500, set in 2022 by Elite Cattle Company, Meandarra, Queensland.

As planned semen packages have been sold to New Zealand and Australian breeders, which has largely recouped the cost of the bull already.

For now, all focus is on preparation for the Koetong Angus/Brewer Beef Black Simmentals Bulls Sale on Friday, March 15. Check out the catalogue by clicking the blue text above.