New clients were eager to buy up at Banquet Angus' 2023 on-property spring bull sale held on Friday, in a sign that there was eager interest in cattle that were high in quality.
A first-time Tasmanian buyer was the star bidder of the day, buying the top two priced lots.
The top bull was Lot 4 Banquet Top Deck T020, which sold for $42,000 to David and Vivienne Young, Londavra Angus, St Marys, Tas.
The sale was a total clearance of 32 bulls with an average price of $15,531, which was about $5000 cheaper the stunning highs of last year's spring sale.
David Young said his top purchase fits the bill perfectly for what he needed - a docile bull with some thickness, a strong head and robust breeding characteristics.
"I think that bull will deliver it all, with a magnificent thickness, a good head carry, and it parades well too," he said.
"This bull will blend into our cattle pretty well and suit us well for this upcoming spring."
Lot 4 Banquet Top Deck T020 recorded a birth weight of +4.0 and growth figures of +59 for 200-day weight, +116 for 400-day weight, and +152 for 600-day weight.
He also recorded an intramuscular fat of +2.6, an eye muscle area of +1.1 and a rump fat of -4.1, with Vonn462 Banquet Nuttella N462 as his sire.
The second highest-priced lot which the Youngs bought up was Lot 14 Banquet Torney T008, which sold for $30,000.
Mr Young said that Lot 14 was a "little bit of a different type of bull with a good low birth weight," which would be suitable to join with some younger heifers on his property.
"We got 35 millimetres of rain this week, which is pretty perfect for us in this early part of the season," he said.
It was his first time visiting Banquet, and he credited the stud "for a good presentation of bulls all round".
Other buyers came from across the country for the spring sale, including volume buyer VJ & AJ Thorne from Longreach, Qld, who bought two bulls for $22,000 in total.
Other volume buyers were locals D O Anders, Hexham, who bought up three bulls for a total price of $44,000 and Glenwood Pastoral Trust, Hawkesdale, who bought up two bulls for a total price of $21,000.
Despite prices being cheaper, Banquet manager Hamish Branson said he was relatively pleased with new clients who visited the sale.
"I'm glad that we have bulls going to Queensland and Western Australia in particular," he said.
"It's a fair spread for only 32 bulls, but it was also good that some existing clients got bulls as well."
Mr Branson said the seven lots in the sale with Vonn462 Banquet Nuttella N462 had also been "super special" for the stud, as its progeny also topped last year's spring bull sale and February female cattle sale.
"There was a lot of thickness, and an easy-doing nature... and super quiet animals to deal with beautiful sound feet and structure."
While Mr Branson recognised recent market fluctuations and lower prices across most cattle sales, he said it meant that studs recognised the importance of high-quality cattle
"Quality stock is a lot more important now than it was 12 months ago, because anything was making money, and having quality cattle making money is how it should be," he said.
"Little runty carves that were making big money last year just wasn't sustainable, but good cattle is making good money.
"Especially those cattle who have a bit of a name and there's a reputation there that people know that it will give them a return on their purchase."
