Repeat buyers give a lift to Gippsland stud's annual autumn bull sale

Mawarra Genetics, Longford, run by Peter and Deanne Sykes and their family, offered 107 bulls at the annual auction, including 74 Herefords and 40 Angus.

The Skews family, Ensay, paid $19,000 for the top-priced bull, 19-month old Angus Mawarra Touchdown T157.

He was one of 28 of 35 Angus bulls sold for an average of $7107.

Of the 72 Herefords offered, 51 sold to a top of $18,000, average $8406.

Kym Skews said the bull had very good growth and calving ease figures.

"We are wanting to put a bit of size in our black cattle, they are a bit smaller than we would like," Ms Skews said.

"He presented very well, his phenotype was very good and his figures suited us."

Ms Skews and husband Ken run a herd of 550 breeders, including heifers, mainly aiming for the spring sales but also carrying cattle through to feeder weights, depending on the market.

She said they had bought at Mawarra before.

"You must have trust in your stud masters, that the information they are going to get to you is correct, because you are dependant on the data they collect," she said.

"We are interested in Peter's (Sykes) knowledge, they run a very professional show and the black bulls have been improving exponentially over the last few years."

There was "a lot of interest" in the bull, hence the higher price, she said.

"He is value for money, we thought he was the standout bull," she said.

Touchdown T517, was an August 2022-drop bull by Dunoon Prime Minister P758 out of Premier Y301 Dream 137.

He weighed 790kg.

Touchdown had a birth weight of 3.9kg, a 200-day growth of 57kg, a 400-day weight of 112kg and 600-day weight of 158kg.

His eye muscle area (EMA) measured 7.9 sq cm, his rib fat was -1.5mm and rump fat was -1.1mm.

Touchdown had an retail beef yield (RBY) of 1.2pc and intramuscular fat (IMF) of 1.1pc.

The top priced Hereford, lot 9 Mawarra Legit T024 (H) sold for $18,000.

The March 2022-drop bull was by Mawarra Emperor (AI) (ET) (H) out of Mawarra Miss Titania 819 and weighed 900 kilograms.

He had calving ease direct (DIR) figures of -4.5, a birth weight of 6.2kg, 200-day growth of 38kg, 400-day weight of 63kg and 600-day weight of 92kg.

Legit's EMA was measured at 4.1 square centimetres, his rib fat depth at 0.4 millimetres and rump fat depth at 0.9mm.

He had an RBY of 0.5 per cent and IMF of 2.3pc.

Legit was described in the catalogue as having the pedigree to breed excellent females and an IMF "sure to increase your MSA gradings.

"A heifer's first calf, Miss Titania 819's maternal brother sold for $16,000 and her maternal sister for $5,000," the catalogue said.

He was bought by Ironbark Herefords, Barraba, NSW.

Elders Bairnsdale livestock manager Morgan Davies said repeat buyers were prominent at the sale.

"It's probably trending like it has in the various other Gippsland markets, clearance is the issue," Mr Davies said.

"People have probably bought a lot of bulls in previous years and are probably culling cows a lot harder than they thought."

Rain and confidence would see the market turn around - "a bit of rain usually fixes most problems," he said.

Nutrien South East stud stock manager Peter Godbolt, Albury, said Mawarra's return clients showed faith in the stud's program.

"It maybe not as strong at the top end, as it has in the past, but the local buyers have been rewarded in not having to pay as much for good quality bulls," he said.

Buyers came from the local area, Albury and into NSW.

The top-priced Hereford was a good bull, with a "balanced set of data".

He said there were still sales to go and the market was about "where I thought it was going to be, with the market and current seasonal conditions.

"Clearance was always going to be the king this year," Mr Godbolt said.

"Rain would be terrific."

The cattle market had not been as buoyant as it had been in the previous two or three years, he said.

"Cash flow, at the other end hasn't been as strong," he said.