Victorian cows with calves top Team Te Mania sale, while Queensland step in

Director Hamish McFarlane said the online Team Te Mania female sale on Friday, March 22, had 132 registered bidders spread across Victoria, NSW, South Australia and Queensland.

"I thought the sale went really well, comparable to other sales," he said.

The sale had 50 lots and 1363 head of cattle and 47 lots, or 1293 head sold to a top price of $2700, and an average price of $1947.

The sale grossed $2,517,360.

The sale offered 78 cows with calves at foot to a top price of $2700 and an average price of $2600, while 92 unjoined heifers sold to $1320 and had an average price of $1310.

The sale's 642 head of mixed-age pregnancy tested in calf (PTIC) spring cows sold to $2470, with an average price $1935, 376 PTIC heifers sold to $2525 with an average price of $1962, and 114 second and third-calving cows sold to $2420 with an average price of $2078.

Overall, the sale had 756 cows, 420 heifers, 109 yearlings and 78 cows and calves on offer, and 61 heifers across two pens were passed in, and one pen of nine NSM cows with calves at foot.

Wave Hills Partnership, Tahara West, were the vendors of the top-priced pen, Lot 46, which sold to $2700 and had 44 cows with calves at foot.

Mr McFarlane said they had been part of the Team Te Mania since 2005, and were "very focused" on all carcase traits and key profit driver traits.

"They've done a lot of artificial insemination using our bulls since the beginning of their involvement," he said.

He said a buyer in Inverell, NSW, bought the top-priced pen.

The second top-priced heifer pen, Lot 14, sold by Thring Pastoral Co, Manduruma, NSW, had 46, 481 kilograms, 19-20 months, Te Mania Blood, Angus heifers, for 524 cents a kilogram or $2525.

"I thought they sold really well, there was a lot of interest on those, and to comparable sales they sold about $300-500 a head better," he said.

Mr McFarlane said the buyer, at Nowendoc, NSW, were returning buyers and an example of someone who used the sale to source their females from.

He said there was also an SA client who bought two pens of heifers from two SA vendors, Poltalloch Pastoral Company, and Viewbank.

He said other highlights included Susie Chisholm, Gwalia, Adelong, NSW, who sold her top pen for $2470.

"She's one of our progeny test herds, and some of our other larger vendors, in particular Boona and Lakala, Mumbannar, both sold respectively from $1800 to $1900," he said.

There were 15 team member vendor herds, SA, Vic and NSW.

He said Queensland buyers were more prominent this year due to available feed, and he believed southern Queenslanders looked for high-quality females to join their programs.

"It's been a gradual trend we've noticed over recent years and this year being a high point," Mr McFarlane said.

"Quite a few returning buyers and quite a few new ones which is a really encouraging sign, and team members were buying cattle from other Te Mania team members."