A bull described by its buyers as perfect reached the top price at Landfall Angus’ spring bull sale, where a total clearance of bulls was achieved.
The Launceston, Tasmania, stud offered 103 two year-old bulls, and sold the lot, with the top bull making $16,500, and the sale recording an $8714 average.
This average is up $476 on the average recorded at the same sale last year, and it totally exceeded the stud’s expectations.
Landfall’s Ed Archer said given many areas where they normally sell bulls to are struggling seasonally, he expected the sale to be tough going.
But buyers from the mainland, all parts of Tasmania and its islands, were seeking high quality bulls suitable for joining to heifers.
“There’s been some extra heifers coming down from up north because of the drought, and these bulls lend themselves to heifers, so I think that supported the sale,” Mr Archer said.
And it was a local buyer, the Lindsay family, Bracknell, that purchased the top-priced bull, Lot 2, Landfall Reality M165.
They have been buying from the stud for almost 15 years, returning each year, and often buying big money-making bulls, because of the success of the genetics.
And Lot 2 was no exception, being described by Gary Lindsay as having perfect muscle and shape.
And Mr Lindsay said he relies on visual assessment over estimated breeding values (EBVs), but that the bull’s figures backed up its appearance.
Its EBVs were +4.4 kilograms birth weight, +47kg 200-day weight, +91kg 400-day weight, +116kg 600-day weight, and eye muscle area +4.1 millimetres.
Dane and Ingrid Martin, ‘Dockers Plains’, Wangaratta, bought five bulls, to a top of $14,000, av $11,100.
Return clients of five years, the Martins said the bulls have improved their herd’s evenness and consistency dramatically.
“They’re easy care, adaptable, high performing cattle,” Mr Martin said.