TAMAROO ANGUS
*11 of 13 bulls sold to $5000, av $4000
A VICTORIAN buyer has secured the top-priced bull, and been the biggest volume buyer of the day, at Tamaroo Angus’ annual bull-sale, held at their Cygnet, Tasmania, property last Wednesday.
John and son Leigh Drysdale, Yarck, who were buying bulls from the stud for the third year in a row, purchased the top-bull, Lot 13, as well as four others, to an average price of $4100.
John Drysdale said they happily make the journey to Tasmania to buy well-bred bulls that suit their operation.
“They’re nice, solid bulls that really suit our job, and their temperament is fantastic,” Mr Drysdale said.
“We sell calves at 10 months old, and they always come up really nice and square.”
He said he’d planned to buy a few bulls at the sale to go over a mixture of heifers and older cows, but thought a different bull would have been top-priced.
“Lot 4 was a very nice, square bull, he was the one we would have paid the highest price for, but it’s just a luck of the draw,” he said.
Lot 13 came in at 740 kilograms, and recorded estimated breeding values of +4.7kg birth weight, and growth figures of +46kg 200-days weight, +82kg 400-days weight, and +109kg 600-days weight.
Tamaroo stud principal Adam Harvey said he was one of the more muscly bulls in the lineup.
“He had a fairly moderate frame, and moderate birth weight, but his growth rates were really impressive,” Mr Harvey said.
“He also had really good scrotal circumference (38 centimetres), and eye muscle area (93 square centimetres).”
He said all of the bulls in the sale had come from the stud’s own bulls.
“We tried to do it all naturally this year, so we didn’t use any AI genetics,” he said.
“Whether we didn’t have the X factor this year because of that, I’m not sure, but I was really happy with what our stud can produce.
“There’ll be some fairly new AI sons coming through in the next two years, we’ve had an 87 per cent conception rate this year.”
While the Drysdale family were the biggest volume buyers of the day, Surveyors Bay Angus farm manager Carl Ashlin, Dover, Tas, took home two bulls, at $4500 each.
Mr Ashlin said this year’s lineup of bulls was of top quality.
“I think using their own bulls instead of artificially inseminating worked out in their favour, it meant they put more effort into it, and they’ve got some good bloodlines down there,” Mr Ashlin said.
Return buyers of five years, he said they have been getting consistent results.
“We sell weaners at about six or seven months of age, and we never have any issues, they’re good bulls,” he said.
“We liked these two bulls this year because we were after a bit more length and height to get a bit more stretch in our calves.”
Roberts stud stock manager Jock Gibson said other than the bulls that went to the Drysdale family, all other buyers were local.
“We would have liked to see a few more people, but considering that, we still ended up with a reasonable clearance,” Mr Gibson said.
“The quality of the bulls was very good, it was a very even lineup.”