A western Victorian Angus stud will use its first, highly successful on-property sale to springboard an ambitious expansion program.
Willoughby Angus, Gnarwarre, last week held its inaugural auction. Bulls went under the hammer at CVLX, Ballarat, after the regular store sale.
Stud principal Ken Wharton said the first sale was very successful, resulting in a $12,000 top price and average of $8000.
"We have brought a new property and are building our numbers up, so we basically needed new clients," Mr Wharton said.
"It was putting them out there, to let people see the quality we are breeding."
The top-priced bull, Willoughby Paratrooper T236 was sired by Millah Murrah Paratrooper P15, out of Willoughby Champagne N73.
He had Trans Tasman Angus Cattle Evaluation figures of a +2.1 kilogram birth weight, +47kg 200-day weight, +104kg 400-day weight and +131kg 600-day weight.
His eye muscle area (EMA) was +9.1 square centimetres, his rib fat measured +1.2 millimetres and rump fat was +1.0mm.
Paratrooper had a retail beef yield (RBY) of -0.1 per cent and intramuscular fat (IMF) of +3.4pc.
The bull weighed 820kg.
Mr Wharton said the stud hoped to eventually run a breeding herd of 90-100 cows.
"We are flushing donor cows and we have been buying in top-quality cows from dispersals, we purchased three embryos and three females from Premier Angus (Mangoplah, NSW)," he said.
The top-priced bull went to a Weerite buyer.
"He liked the depth, width and weight gain," Mr Wharton said.
"The bull was putting on 1.5 kilograms a day, just on hay, as we don't have any grass at the moment."
Mr Wharton said he stud may follow the line set up by the Texas stud, Warialda NSW, having sold four Iceman sons for an average of $10,400.
"The next top-price was T243 Iceman, who sold for $11,000," Mr Wharton said.
"We have purchased a Millah Murrah breed bull as our herd bull.
"So with embryo transfers, AI and our Millah Murrah bred herd bull things are looking good for the future.
"We had 15 bulls this sale we plan to have 30 bulls for the next Autumn sale in 2025."
Elders Ballarat auctioneer Nick Gray said Mr Wharton had traditionally sold his animals through Stock & Land Beef Week and private selection, but he probably just wanted a little bit more exposure, to get a few more clients," he said.
Bulls went to Gippsland, Colac, Albury, NSW, and several stayed in the local area.
"They presented in very good condition, he has done a great job in getting them to where he has," he said.
The sale of the first sons of Texas Iceman had probably spurred further interest, in the sale, he said.
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Andrew Miller
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
