Dry seasonal conditions, erratic cattle markets and an influx of Hereford bulls in Victoria's stud stock sector have contributed to a "disappointing" result at Newcomen Hereford's annual on-property bull sale.
The Ensay stud run by Barry and Topsy Newcomen recorded a 48 per cent clearance rate, selling just 29 of 60 bulls on offer to a top price of $14,000 to average $7172.
Cattle buyers across Gippsland were among the buying fraternity on Tuesday, with the odd bull heading towards beef operations in the north-east of Victoria.
Mr Newcomen said people were holding out for an autumn break after conditions had dried off in recent weeks, ironically after precipitation had hit the shed roof during the sale.
"I'm a bit disappointed obviously, I knew it was going to be a tough sale, but that's just the way it is at the moment," he said.
"I'm reading about other sales that have been in Victoria and NSW and some of them have had a fair percentage passed in so I was expecting something like that.
"I thought we would have done a bit better than what we've done, but I understand the situation."
Mr Newcomen said he had heavily invested in genetics in recent months, including the top-priced bull at Yarram Park in February.
Lot 2 Yarram Emperor T151 was bought by Mr Newcomen for $50,000 in partnership with Amos Vale Herefords, Pinkett, NSW.
"We had probably the best offering we've ever had and I'm confident people that people will realise that and when the situation improves, they'll be back," he said.
"We've just bought four good sires this year, two from YavenVale, one was Yarram Park and one was Wirruna.
"One bull from YavenVale and one bull from Wirruna were what Herefords Australia calls super sires, so they have really good figures."
Mr Newcomen, who describes himself as "85 not out", said he had no plans to retire from farming, and enjoyed the challenges of selling and marketing bulls.
"I want to keep farming, my wife Topsy has limited mobility and we can't get a world tour or anything like that anymore," he said.
"I can't travel like I would like to and I'm not that good at golf, so I'm going to continue to breed good cattle while I can."
The top-priced bull, Lot 3 Newcomen Twilight Payment T025, was purchased by Mr Newcomen's brother and sister-in-law, Evan and Dot Newcomen, for $14,000.
The April 2022-drop bull was sired by Quamby Plains Quandary Q511 and out of Newcomen Ursula M021.
The bull was in the top 1pc of the Hereford breed for 400-day weight, top 5pc for 600-day weight, top 10pc for milk and 200-day weight.
It was one of Newcomen Hereford's first bulls out of the "promising sire", Mr Newcomen said.
Evan Newcomen said he did not expect the bull to top the sale, but was attracted to the bull after first inspecting it, then assessing its Estimated Breeding Values.
"When I saw his figures, it made me take another look at him actually," he said.
"I've been buying Barry's bulls even since he's had the stud, the only other bulls I've bought were the occasional Shorthorn bull.
"It's very handy to buy your bull from your next door neighbour and your brother."
Evan and Dot Newcomen run a commercial herd of 400 Hereford and Hereford/Shorthorn-cross breeders and sell a large majority of their autumn-drop calves at 10-12 months through the Ensay Mountain Calf Sale.
They bought three bulls at the sale, including Lot 5 for $9000 and Lot 17 for $6000.
"It's difficult when you see half the bulls not sold because at least when you sell store cattle, the market might be down but it's very rare that you don't have a total clearance," Evan said.
The sale recorded 18 buyers in total, including Nariel Valley graziers Martin and Joanne McNamara who bought four bulls for $6000, respectively.
The McNamaras run a commercial herd and breed cattle for the January weaner sales at Wodonga each year.
Earlier this year, they topped the Wodonga weaner market with a pen of 10 to 12-month-old steers which made $1280.
Their herd comprises 200 breeders, with Angus bulls are used over Hereford heifers for "calving ease".
"On average, we buy between three and four bulls from Barry and Topsy each year because they do a great job in operation," Ms McNamara said.
Elders Gippsland livestock manager Morgan Davies said the sale was on par with other bull sales across the country.
"The sale clearance is what we believe bull sales are about and that clearance was well-below what we were hoping for," he said.
"In the end, there are a lot of Hereford bulls on the market at the moment and there's only a select place they can go."
Among the other volume buyers was Barry and Topsy Newcomen's son and daughter-in-law, Reece and Wendy Newcomen, Ensay North, who bought three bulls to a top price of $9000.
After the sale, Barry Newcomen addressed the crowd and thanked them for their support.
"Each buyer gets a bottle of red wine with the lot number of the bull they bought in the sale... well I have a lot of wine to drink," he said.
Bryce Eishold
Bryce is a senior journalist with Australian Community Media's Stock & Land where he reports on all aspects of agriculture. Bryce is also the president of the Rural Press Club of Victoria. Email Bryce at bryce.eishold@stockandland.com.au.
Bryce is a senior journalist with Australian Community Media's Stock & Land where he reports on all aspects of agriculture. Bryce is also the president of the Rural Press Club of Victoria. Email Bryce at bryce.eishold@stockandland.com.au.
