A South Australian bull created a bidding frenzy in the sale barn at the recent 58th Herefords Australia National Sale to sell for the top price of $75,000.
Held at the Wodonga Exhibition Centre, the sale was southern Australia’s single biggest multi-vendor British bred offering with 53 vendors from NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.
Drawing 149 registered buyers, the sale resulted in a total of 121 bulls selling under the hammer from the 160 offered for a clearance of 75 per cent, a top price of $75,000, an average of $11,917 and gross of $1,442,000.
Celebrating 96 years of performance breeding, Ian and Anne Galloway, Cootharaba Herefords, Roma, Queensland, outbid a New England syndicate to secure Lot 55 Wild Bear Stranger S007 (AI) (H) for $75,000.
The 22-month-old bull was offered by Ben and Katelin Davies, Wild Bear Herefords, Paris Creek, SA, and was a homebred bull by Wild Bear Powerhouse P010 and out of Wild Bear Angeline N005.
Stranger weighed 856kgs, had a raw scan of 124square cms on the eye muscle area, 19mms of fat on the rump, 10mm on the rib and a scrotal circumference of 42cms.
Ian Galloway said the bull fitted the Cootharaba program as an outcross bloodline coupled with his thickness, muscle, skin type and eye pigment.
He spotted Stranger in the ring the day before, liking his figures for eye muscle area and gestation length and the fact his grandsire, Glendan Park Empire E002, was purchased by Cootharaba in the past.
“We have been breeding stud cattle for just over 10 years now. It is my passion and it is very rewarding to have a day like this come along,” Mr Davies said.
James and Melinda Higgins, Curracabark Herefords, Gloucester, NSW, returned to the sale after many years break to outlay $60,000 for the second top price bull – Lot 163, Mawarra Valley S198 (AI) (PP), offered by the Sykes family, Mawarra Genetics, Longford, Victoria.
Scott Reardon, Rockford Pty Ltd, Bothwell, Tasmania, paid the top price for a commercial producer of $42,000 for Mawarra Kentucky Bourbon S281 (H) from Mawarra Genetics, Longford.
Sired by Sugarloaf Nowra N124, the bull ranked top three per cent for carcase weight at +75kgs, top one per cent for retail beef yield at +2.6 and top five per cent for 600-day weight.
Lot 195, a 27-month- old bull Vice Admiral, weighing 1024kgs, was bought online by Andrew and Serena Klippel, Sugarloaf Creek Herefords at Towong for $28,000.
Herefords Australia National Show and Sale Wodonga committee chairman, Alvio Trovatello, said the sale was well supported by commercial producers and buoyed by strong seedstock support.
“We did expect a drop in clearance given the extra number of bulls,” he said.
“We normally sell 105 bulls and this year we had 195 entered with 160 offered on the day.
“With the 75 per cent clearance the average is down but it is relative to the 2023 weaner steer prices of $1500 as opposed to $2300 last year.
“The average and clearance this year was expected as we sold 121 compared to last year 108 with a good spread of buyers from Queensland to South Australia and Tasmania.
“Repeat buyers from the Victorian high country and western Victoria were also active. Selling agents were Elders and Nutrien Ag Solutions with the sale interfaced with AuctionsPlus.
This article appeared in the Corryong Courier, 25 May 2023.