Mawarra Genetics sells Hereford, Angus bulls at its 50th sale

The Longford stud, run by Peter and Deanne Sykes and their family, offered 108 bulls at the autumn auction on Tuesday, including 59 Herefords which sold to a top price of $24,000 and 30 Angus, topping at $22,000.

Mr Sykes said he was humbled by the support of many long-term buyers, many who had become life-long friends.

"We were thrilled that a lot of good, old clients who have been supporting us over that 50 years came here and purchased some good bulls," he said.

The milestone was less than a year after the family set a new record at the Herefords Australia National Sale in Wodonga, topping the sale with a May 2020-drop bull, Mawarra Ultra Star R182, for $130,000.

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Mrs Sykes said the sale was underpinned by loyal beef-breeding families who had supported the stud since its inception.

"We've had people buy Angus bulls today that years ago bought Hereford ones and we've got grandchildren whose grandparents bought from us in our original half a dozen sales that purchased here too," she said.

"Peter's parents, Helen and Robert, who started the stud, and Helen was here with us during the sale, were incredible innovators in the way that they developed their business and fantastic cattlemanship.

"It's been a privilege for us to follow in their footsteps and expand on what they originally built, and now to have our own children involved and our grandson, Carter, even though he's still very small, is fantastic."

Fifteen Hereford bulls were passed in at auction to record an average of $9627, while only four Angus bulls were passed in during the sale for an average of $9400 across the draft.

The top-priced bull was purchased by long-term South Gippsland client and Phelan & Henderson & Co director David Phelan, Yarram, on behalf of Paul and Brad Thomas, Kylandee Herefords, Inverell, NSW.

Mr Phelan, who had only missed one Mawarra sale in 50 years, bought three Herefords and three Angus bulls for five clients at the sale.

"I travel a lot of miles and you would struggle to find a better group of bulls," Mr Phelan said.

The $24,000 Hereford bull, Lot 3 Mawarra King of Beef, was a March 2021-drop bull sired by Sugarloaf Nowra N124 and out of Mawarra Virginia 176.

The bull was in the top 5 per cent of the breed for 200, 400 and 600-day growth and carcase weight, top 20pc for retail beef yield and top 20pc for milk.

Prior to the sale, King of Beef was touted by Mawarra as one of their best bulls of the draft because of his big, powerful, deep and easy-doing characteristics and its good-milking ability.

Mr Phelan said he inspected the bulls on behalf of the Thomas family a few weeks ago.

"They happened to have a flying visit through Gippsland and looked at the bull and rang me back and said 'Did I have any clients interested in the bull?' and I said 'We're always interested in the good bulls but it depends how much money you've got' and they had the most money on the day," Mr Phelan said.

"He has a great rump and hindquarter on him, he's good right through and very deep and square with a nicely laid-in-front shoulder.

Mr Phelan has previously bought bulls by King of Beef's grand sire, Pourakino Downs Jasper.

"I bought the top bull here a couple of years ago for $21,000 which was by Jasper and now we have a magnificent drop of calves on the ground from him at the moment so I know these bulls perform," he said.

Kylandee Herefords stud principal Phil Thomas said the bull would be joined to the stud's breeding program in May and be placed over mixed-aged stud cows.

"We bought a bull from Mawarra three years ago and his progeny is extremely good," Mr Thomas said.

"The bull really appealed to me and after looking at 500 bulls from seven or eight studs, I thought it was the best one on our trip."

The top-priced Angus bull, Lot 102 Mawarra Star Attraction, was bought by Alan and Jan Robinson, Jarobee Angus stud, Beechworth, for $22,000.

The May 2021-drop bull was sired by Clunie Range Landmark L415 and out of Witherswood Wilcoola M0012.

He was the maternal brother of the top and second top-priced Angus bulls in the Longford stud's 2021 sale.

The Robinsons were not at the sale, but entrusted Elders Victoria and Riverina stud stock manager Ross Milne to carry out the bidding on their behalf.

Mrs Robinson said it was the first time Jarobee had bought a bull from the stud.

"We used the recommendation of some pretty experienced people and bought him on that recommendation," she said.

"He's the type of bull we try and breed; he's a thick, soft and a sound bull and we'll use him with our stud cows.

"He has a lower EMA so we will juggle him with higher EMA females and we look forward to getting him home."

The buying gallery was made up of prospective registered purchasers from Victoria, NSW and Queensland, with buyers spread across all parts of Victoria, and NSW.

Other Hereford bulls to pass $20,000 included Lot 49, Mawarra Keith, bought by Tarcoola Herefords, Casterton, for $22,000 and Orana Partnership, Myamyn, which bought Lot 40, Mawarra Kahlua, for $22,000.

Eight bulls were bought by a group of buyers operating via AuctionsPlus.

RK & CA Haywood, Longford, bought three Hereford bulls to a top price of $10,000 for Lot 34, Mawarra VB, a March 2021-drop bull sired by Mwarra Showtime P277 and out of Mawarra Hyacinth.

South-west client Heatherlea Partnership, Codrington, bought three Hereford bulls to a top price of $11,000 for Lot 55, Mawarra Kentucky, an August 2021-drop bull and the first son of dam Mawarra Miss Titania 726.

North-east Victorian buyer Granite Flats Pastoral, Mitta Mitta, bought four Hereford bulls, including Lot 2, Mawarra Kingdom, for $6000 and Lot 58, Mawarra Knight Fall, for $7000.

Among the Angus volume buyers was Richard Crook, Longford, who bought three bulls, including Lot 101, Mawarra Sheriff, for $12,000, Lot 116, Mawarra Superman, for $11,000, and Lot 129, Mawarra Saintly, for $10,000.

The three black bulls were sired by Clunie Range Landmark L415, the sire of the $22,000 Angus bull, and out of Anvil and Yancowinna cows.

Stud stock auctioneer Paul Dooley, Tamworth, NSW, said the downturn in beef prices in recent months contributed to the performance of the sale.

"I think the clearance was a bit disappointing because of the fewer white-faced bulls we sold," he said.

"The bulls we sold made good money to good clients, but there is no doubt that as a result of the store market coming back, in historical terms it's probably not too bad, but it's a lot less than the last few years."

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