Bulls in working order delivered a strong clearance at the Francs Angus, Beaufort, stud sale on Wednesday.
A total of 31 bulls were sold out of the 33 offered, the majority of which went to the stud's repeat customers.
The Francs Angus bulls were sold by TB White and Sons, Ballarat, via the Helmsman timed auction system.
The top-priced bull, Lot 1, Koornanag Park Francs T114, was bought by Stuwart Richardson, Newlyn, for a steady $14,000.
The September 2022-drop bull weighed 776 kilograms and was sired by Merridale Q-Flip Q137 and out of Koornang Park Francs M59.
The sale topper recorded TransTasman Angus Cattle Evaluation figures of +1.2 square centimetres eye muscle area, birth weight of +4.1kg, 200-day weight of +59kg, 400-day weight of +113kg and a 600-day weight of +149kg.
Francs Angus stud co-principal Nick Franc said the top-priced bull stood out since it was a calf.
"Many judges have been super impressed by this bull," he said.
"He has growth rates at the top end and is structurally very sound.
"There's heaps of length and thickness."
Mr Richardson said his new bull was an "all rounder".
The bull will be joined with a mob of 50 mature Angus cows for breeding weaners or finished cattle, from June.
"His combination of figures and how he looked were very good," Mr Richardson said.
He said he was a repeat customer of the stud and that the bulls always perform well.
Wednesday's on-farm sale saw an average price of $6725.
This compared to the stud's 2023 average of $9015, top of $17,000 and a total clearance.
Mr Franc said recent cattle prices affected the trade and that overall, he was a "little bit dissappointed".
"The prices were reflective of the cattle market," he said.
"They were probably a little bit flatter than I was hoping.
"There probably just wasn't the competition that I was hoping for but there was only two passed in so we'd a good clearance.
"When things get a bit tough, it's all about the clearance."
Mr Franc said Francs Angus is a "good local stud that has a good local client base".
"The majority of our stuff goes into Ballarat and they know that they don't have to travel hundreds of miles to come and get a good quality, well-bred bull," he said.
"We've a good relationship and we know all our clients by name."
Mr Franc made a point of highlighting that the stud's bulls were not pushed with feed.
"You're not going to get any nasty surprises," he said.
"I've been at a lot of sales where your bulls are too fat, artificially fat, and you're going to get nasty surprises.
"I like to say the bulls here are fit, not fat.
"They're in good working order and you can't hide anything.
"It's about getting that balance between having your bulls looking good but not being overfed."
Chris Jarrett, Ballyrogan, bought two bulls at the sale, Lot 9 and Lot 31.
Both bulls were sold for $6500.
Mr Jarrett said he had bought one to use on heifers and the other would be put to a mob of Angus cows, from May.
"I liked their quietness and the quality of them," he said.
He said he looked at the bulls figures and completed a visual inspection of the bulls before the sale.
TB White and Sons, Ballarat, agent Tom Madden said the sale had a "good clearance".
"We were quite happy with the top end of the bulls," he said.
"There certainly was a big run of bulls between $6000 through to $7000 where if you were looking for a bull, you would have got a very good one for that sort of money," he said.
"The $14,000 top was a very good result given the current situation and circumstances."
