Wirruna Autumn Bull & Female Sale
Sale Date: 8th March 2017
No. Offered: 61 Bulls (7 Heifers)
No. Sold: 50 Bulls (7 Heifers)
Average Price: $6,230 ($3,607 for heifers)
Top Price: $31,000 for Lot 5 ($7,000 for heifer Lot 71)
Name of Top Price Bull: Wirruna Kalimna K326
Sire of Top Price Bull: Wirruna Hartwig H297
Purchaser of Top Price Bull: 50% share to J Forbes Woods & Co, TERRANEIL Poll Herefords, WA & 50% share to Ross & Andrew Bennett of BENDULLA PTY LTD, SA
Name of Top Price Female: Wirruna Golden Vanity K242
Sire of Top Price Female: Wirruna Hot Stuff H356
Purchaser of Top Price Female: James Pearce, Yavenvale Herefords, Adelong
Sale Comments: The Wirruna Autumn Bull and female sale saw a similar average and clearance to that achieved the previous Spring. Especially pleasing was a new record price paid at Wirruna for the high marbling stud sire Wirruna Kalimna K326 shared by the Woods of Terraneil Poll Herefords, WA and the Bennetts of Bendulla Poll Herefords SA. Other studs to purchase at the sale included ARJAYM Herefords VIC, Woodstock Poll Herefords VIC, Quaindering Poll Herefords WA, Kidman Cattle Co, Elite Poll Herefords and Yavenvale Herefords. Ian Locke of Wirruna Poll Herefords stated after the sale that there was good stud and commercial interest for the top end of bulls and plenty of choice to make sure buyers didn’t go home empty handed if they needed a bull.
There was strong demand for the used Wirruna Sires averaging $13,000. Also the growth bulls averaging at $6,909 and the females went to new homes as far as Emerald QLD, Hernani in northern NSW, and Moama in the southern Riverina. In both bulls and females, there appeared to be a strong interest in higher marbling genetics with commercial and stud buyers competing strongly for the 40 animals rated in the top 5% of the breed for marbling.
Bulls carrying true-polled (Homozygous polled) genetics averaged $942/head over their counterparts that carry a copy of the horn gene (heterozygous polled). This consistently reflects feedback and enquiry of clients seeking to reduce the incidence of horned progeny requiring dehorning.
