VIOLET HILLS
Total clearance of 32 sold to $8000, av $4890
A BULL with a famous farming name has topped the recent Violet Hills Charolais Southern sale at the Yea saleyards.
Violet Hills Kidman, by Violet Hills Hilston and out of Violet Hills Genevese was sold to Greg McGrath, St Clair, Jeetho.
Mr McGrath said the August 2014 drop bull would be a valuable asset in vealer production, popular in his South Gippsland region.
“I liked his thickness, I have lot of first-cross cattle, I have a stud as well and I wanted to put my thickness in the cattle,” he said.
He said the early maturing attributes of the Charolais also attracted him to the bull.
“With the Friesan-Angus mothers, with a bull like this, you should have really good vealers,” Mr McGrath said.
Kidman had estimated breeding values (EBVs) of 2.7 millimetres rib fat, 3.5mm rump fat, an eye muscle area (EMA) of 1.8 sq cm and weighed in at 782kg, last month. He recorded weight gains of +17, +33 and +36, over 200, 400 and 600 days, respectively and has a scrotal size (SS) of 37cm.
The bull was described as an outstanding example of the breed, a polled bull with low birth weight, high growth, length, muscling and softness.
Gippsland and Tasmanian buyers took the pick of the bulls early.
Violet Hills principal Daryl Jenkins bought the bulls down from his Central Highlands, NSW, property.
“We were very happy to have our repeat buyers coming back, which indicates our breeding program is going in the right direction,” he said.
“We aim to produce bulls for the grassfed market, the vealer and yearling market, they are they are the areas where they are more dominant.”
He said the bulls offered at Yea were equal to the ones it offered on-farm.
“The people who have tried the Charolais are very happy with them, but there is tremendous variation, within the breed,” Mr Jenkins said.
“It’s finding the appropriate Charolais for the production systems they are used in.”
Auctioneer Adam Mountjoy, Rodwells Yea, said the top end of the market, between $6500 and $8000, saw “numerous good bulls.”
“Typically, the bulls suit this area, too,” Mr Mountjoy said.
“In a good season, these bulls they travel well, they have got that real good softness and early maturing.
“They are suited to more traditional high rainfall areas, which are having a good season and can get those early vealers off, so these bulls are performance bulls.”
