Banquet Angus receives strong support

The top-priced bull was Banquet Specialist S353, an August 2021-drop embryo transfer calf, from the Quiet Y091 female line out of Banquet Nixon N099.

The bull has already been used in stud in artificial insemination programs and had semen retained by the Branson family.

He was secured by Peter and James Blyth, Blyth Bros, Fernleigh Angus, Warragul, through Alex Scott & Staff for $55,000.

"He is a bull that is going to add a lot of muscularity and thickness to our cattle," James Blyth said.

"He is out a phenomenal female line, and being that this is the last opportunity to purchase a direct son of her we decided that we were not going to miss out on being able to add her bloodline to our herd.

"We are looking to breed cattle that have that longevity and the Quiet line is a line of cattle that we are really attracted to and feel will complement our herd exceptionally well.

"We believe he will complement our herd and increase our longevity, docility and structure as well, and we know the Banquet cattle do very well in the Gippsland area."

The second top-priced bull was Banquet Silverado S235, which is headed north after being purchased by Glen and Simon McKinlay, Emerald, Queensland, for $40,000.

Silverado S235 is a Banquet Jambaroo J507 son and has had semen collected for future use within the Banquet herd.

"We really admired Silverado for his length, chest depth and heart room, he was a little high on the tail set but we could allow for that," Glen McKinlay said.

"We just thought he was a ripper, and had good figures to match.

"We have purchased from Banquet's stud sale before and the bulls do really well for us.

"[The Bransons] are a great family and look after us.

"There was a great line up of bulls here on the day and the temperament of them was amazing, there were bulls to suit every program and we respect that."

Banquet Angus stud co-principal Stephen Branson said he was "over the moon" with the results received.

"It was a fantastic result across the board given the recent shift in beef markets and commodity markets," Mr Branson said.

"Our average and top is down compared to last year, which is expected, but to me it has identified that where our bulls and our program are at the minute is the strongest it has been.

"We found during our field days that people are looking more than ever for temperament, complemented by structure and longevity, which is a core focus for us as a family.

"It was also a terrific achievement for us to sell a bull through to Western Australia, with all states except for the Northern Territory purchasing bulls on the day."

Banquet stud co-principal Noeleen Branson echoed her husband's comments at the conclusion of the sale.

"We were so proud of this year's draft of sale bulls, and we cannot wait to see how they complement and breed for the programs they are going into across the country," she said.