The Spring on-property bull sales started with a bang when Devon Court Herefords’ 90th anniversary sale set a record top price of $40,000 to mark a memorable milestone for the Queensland stud.
Third generation stud breeder and principal, Tom Nixon, cleared 31 of the 32 Devon Court sale bulls for an average price of $11,935 on September 6, with eight of them sold to stud duties at Mawarra, Glendan Park, Mossvale, Foxforth, Cootharaba and Wallan Creek.
Lot 9, Devon Court Revolver R081, sold to Victorian breeders Peter and Deanne Sykes, Mawarra Genetics, Longford, for the top price of $40,000, eclipsing the stud’s previous record of $22,000. The October 2020 drop bull was by Devon Court Advance K126 and ranked top 10 per cent for short gestation, retail beef yield and scrotal circumference.
The second top price of $32,000 was outlaid by Glendan Park Herefords, Barfold, Victoria, for Lot 7, Devon Court N142 Advance R066 sired by Devon Court Advance N142, while Mossvale Herefords, Wandoan, Queensland, paid $28,000 for Lot 17, Devon Court Anzac R058 sired by Injemira Anzac J188.
Mr Nixon said demand was strong for the bigger, powerful bulls with extra performance, muscle and carcase traits, and many of the sires sold into crossbred herds in northern NSW and Queensland.
The stud also sold 10 commercial heifers aged 10-12 months for $2025/head and a second pen of 10 for $2000, to post an overall average of $2016/head.
The first of the sales for September was Kay Payne’s auction of Elite Poll Hereford bulls at Scone, NSW, where 44 bulls sold from a catalogue of 48 to set a top price of $18,000 and average of $8023.
The sale topper was 15-month-old Elite K124 S135, purchased by Neville and Denise Shannon, Braelyn Hereford stud, Merritts Creek, Queensland. Sired by Centennial Calibre K124, the bull had +73kg for 400-day growth, +6.9scqm for eye muscle area and +1.4 for intramuscular fat.
Herefords Australia Super Sire, Elite K124 S069 sold for $13,000 to the Bell family, Millicent, South Australia. Kierin and Nikki Martin, Kianma Herefords, Forbes, NSW, sold three bulls in the AuctionsPlus monthly cattle stud and genetics sale to a top of $8500 and average of $7166. Two heifers averaged $6700 with Kianma Matchless S006 making the highest price of $9500.
A 2021 daughter of Eathorpe Precision P040, Matchless S006 was Junior Champion Female at the 2022 Herefords Australia National Youth Expo.
Robert Hain, Gunyah Herefords, Cooma, NSW, held the stud’s 53 rd on-property sale on September 2 with 15 sold from 20 lots to set a top of $11,000 and average of $6433. The sale topper, 19-month old Gunyah Jackson S098 by Yavenvale Napoleon and a heifer’s first calf, went to K Heyne, Orbost, Victoria.
In Queensland, Sam Becker from Jarrah Cattle Company at Banana made it a September to remember when he sold 22 two-year-old Hereford bulls to average $19,000 and set a top price of $28,000 three times.
Two of the $28,000 sale toppers, Jarrah Koanui R342 and Jarrah Fortune R316, were knocked down to Robin Bruggerman, Taroom, Queensland.
Bill and Louise Dunne from Dingo bought the third $28,000 bull, Jarrah Koanui R352, a 24-month-old weighing 852kg, scanning 12mm and 8mm for rib and rump fat, and 124 cm 2 for eye muscle area. The bull was in the top one per cent for 200-, 400- and 600-day weight, and top five per cent for EMA.
Altogether the Dunne family outlaid an average $20,428 for seven bulls, while Fred Appleton, Alpha, bought three bulls for an average of $21,667, and Strathmore Exports, Clermont, averaged $16,000 for four bulls.
All of Jarrah’s 40 two-year-old and yearling Hereford bulls sold to set an average of $15,525. Overall, 80 of Jarrah’s purebred and composite Hereford bulls averaged $12,113.
Staying in Queensland, it was a 100 per cent clearance at Scott and Christy Bredhauer’s 11th Lambert Stud sale on September 5, with a top price of $22,000 and the average of $11,280 for 25 lots well up on the 2021 average of $7952.
Lambert Ringleader R138, sired by Lambert Monto, had BREEDPLAN figures of +52kg for carcase weight and +3.1sqcm for eye muscle area, and was purchased by repeat clients, the Hauff family, Blackall, Queensland.
On September 5, John Teschke, Josslyn Poll Herefords, Delegate, NSW, held an interfaced Helmsman bull sale with 10 sold from the 14 lots offered, to set a top of $6000 twice and average $4450.
September 7 saw the online bull sale of Gippsland Performance Herefords, where participating studs Charellen, Mundook, Tarwin, Warringa and Willack cleared 15 bulls from a catalogue of 22 to set a top of $12,000 and average of $8167.
David Miekle, Tarwin Poll Herefords, Meeniyan, topped the sale with Lot 20, Tarwin Santa S081, a homozygous bull by Wirruna Nolan N146 ranking in the top 5 per cent for calving ease direct and carcase weight, top 10 per cent for calving ease daughters, top 15 per cent for milk and top 20 per cent for birthweight. The bull was bought by Noel and Adrienne Cornish, Willow Grove Farms, Trafalgar, Victoria.
Peter McArthur, Oldfield Poll Herefords, held the 26 th annual bull sale at Emerald Hill, NSW, resulting in 19 bulls selling from the 20 offered to a top of $16,000 and average of $8158. The top price was Lot 6 Oldfield Savannah, a 2021 drop bull sired by Yarawa South Paradise P112 out of Oldfield M. Lady Huron J132.
On September 8 at Dalkeith Herefords 52 nd annual sale at Cassilis, NSW, Antony Martin offered 30 bulls and sold 28, setting the highest price of $14,000 three times and averaging $7643.
Equal sale toppers were Dalkeith Recruit R010, by Kerlson Pines Keystone M004, Dalkeith Ripper R034 by Dalkeith Mighty M097, and Dalkeith Ranga R055, by Dalkeith Prince P041. Ripper was bought by Martin Johnston, Baradine, NSW, while Ranga was bought by repeat buyer Tom Lyons, Coonamble, NSW.
Ivan and Amanda Burcher, Binara Poll Herefords, Goondiwindi, held their sale online from September 14-16 offering 24 bulls and selling 12 to a top of $19,000 and average of $7500.
The highest priced bull, Binara Rod Alexander R057, ranked top 15 per cent for gestation length, top 10 per cent for 200-day weight, top 5 per cent for 400- and 600-day weight and top 2 per cent for carcase weight. R057 was one of three bulls bought by commercial cattle producer Clive Golden, Yuleba, Queensland.
Former Junior Champion at the 2022 Herefords Australia National Youth Expo, Kianma Matchless S006 sold for $9500. Image BJS Livestock Photography
The Bredhauer family’s Lambert Ringleader R138 sold for $22,000 to
repeat buyers the Hauff family, Blackall, Queensland.
Tarwin Santa S081 topped the Gippsland Performance Herefords Sale at $12,000.
Devon Court Revolver R081 sold to Peter and Deanne Sykes, Mawarra Genetics, Longford, Victoria, for $40,000 to set the top price at the stud’s 90th Anniversary Sale. Image Devon Court Herefords
