LANDFALL
Total clearance of 90 bulls sold to $24,000, av 7355
INTERSTATE buyers swooped on this year’s annual Landfall Angus, Launceston, Tasmania, spring bull sale, a local still paid the top price of $24,000.
Stud co-principal Frank Archer said nearly half the bulls went to the mainland.
“We had a feeling, prior to the sale, there were going to be more mainland buyers, but not to the extent of the number of bulls going to Victoria and New South Wales,” Mr Archer said.
Connorville Station, Cressy, bought the sale topper, Landfall Aberdeen, K477 (AI), with the next highest price of $17,500 being paid by Funny Hill Pastoral Company, Binda, New South Wales.
“Our reputation is building outside of Tasmania, so people are quite willing to come down and source bulls from the state,” Mr Archer said.
“Connorville liked that bull, they liked the pedigree and have had that pedigree in the past.”
The strong cattle market meant more money in producer’s budgets, for bulls.
He said traditional buyers, from Flinders and King Islands, were also still active but volume buyers included Cobungra Station, Omeo, Victoria (seven bulls) and Bungeeltap, Macedon, Victoria (four).
Mr Archer said 20 bulls went to Flinders Island and 10 to King Island, while several buyers picked up between two and three bulls.
He said the sale would have been softer, without the mainland bidders, as the drought had seen Tasmanian breeder numbers had drop significantly.
Connorville’s Roderick O’Connor said Aberdeen had “all the right attributes and physical presence.
“He was just a stand out,” Mr O’Connor said.
Landfall Aberdeen K477, a September 2014 drop bull, was sired by Aberdeen 759 USA, out of Landfall Joyle F363 (AI). His mid-September Angus Australia BreedPlan estimated breeding values (EBV’s) included a birth weight of +4.6kilograms, a scrotal size of +1.4cm, eye muscle area (EMA) of +8.4 square centimetres, rib fat of +1.9millimetres, rump fat of +1.2mm and intramuscular fat (IMF) of +1.3pc. The bull had a 200-day weight of +50kilograms, 400-day weight of +86kg and 600 day weight of +113kg.
Mr O’Connor said Connorville ran a commercial herd of 1700 cattle, along with a prime lamb and cropping operation.
“His BreedPlan figures were within the blockhole of what we were looking for,” Mr O’Connor said.
“We run an elite herd, under similar principals to Herdbook, to produce our own bulls and we will be using him as a stud sire.”
Mr O’Connor said Connorville had come back to Landfall, after being a solid purchaser in the 1980’s and 90’s.
“They are more in line with the types of animals we are trying to breed – we are very impressed with their bull line-up, especially the last four or five years.”
Roberts Limited’s Tim Woodham said the Landfall reputation was attracting interstate buyers.
“They are value for money – they came over here, when bull sales are averaging $9,500-$10,000 on the mainland and a little bit more in places,” Mr Woodham said.
There were 60 registered buyers for the sale. “The Tasmanians were blown away by the mainlanders, a bit.”
The sale was conducted by Roberts Limited.
