Quamby Plains Poll Hereford bulls delivered strong prices at the stud's annual sale in Hagley, Tasmania, on Thursday, despite a very dry season.
It was the well-known stud's fortieth sale with repeat and some new customers stepping up to purchase their genetics.
Some of the top-priced bulls went to buyers from the mainland.
Online bidders featured throughout, taking home 23 of the 53 bulls offered.
Stud principal Victoria Archer said she was very pleased with how this year's bulls turned out even though it was a "very tough season" in Tasmania.
The top-priced bull, Lot 3, Quamby Plains Thunder T353, sold via Auctions Plus to Alvio Trovatello, Glendan Park, Kyneton, Victoria, for $20,000.
The August 2022-drop bull weighed 746 kilograms and was sired by Tobruk Queenstown Q004 and out of Quamby Plains Magpie R743.
The sale topper recorded Hereford Group Breedplan EBV figures of 4.5 square centimetres eye muscle area, birth weight of 6.1kg, 200-day weight of 53kg, 400-day weight of 78kg and 600-day weight of 107kg.
Speaking to Stock & Land after the sale, Mr Trovatello said his new bull had excellent "overall balance".
He had been down to view the bull at Quamby Plains a couple of weeks ago.
"He had really good skin and hair and to top it off, good EBVs and data," he said.
Mr Trovatello said the bull will soon travel across the Bass Strait to be joined with his pedigree Hereford autumn-calving cows, from June.
It was the second time he purchased from the Tasmanian stud.
He bought two Quamby bulls two years ago.
"They've bred well so we decided to come back and support again," he said.
Ms Archer said Lot 3 was a "stylish, soft-coated, long-bodied bull with excellent EBVs and lovely depth of hindquarters".
She said the bull was its dam's first calf as a heifer and that it was used as a yearling for the 2023 joining.
She highlighted that the bull was in the top 1% of the Hereford breed for 200-day weight EBVs.
Three bulls sold for the sale's second highest price, $16,000 - Lot 1, Quamby Plains Thunder T323, Lot 4, Quamby Plains Triumph T373, and Lot 7, Quamby Plains Tycoon T399.
The last of these was sold online to New South Wales buyer, Supple Herefords, Guyra.
A total of 43 bulls were sold from the 53 offered at Thursday's sale to the top of $20,000 and an average of $8140.
This compared well to a clearance of 45 bulls from the 60 offered in 2023 to a top of $22,000 and an average of $8302.
Ms Archer said she was "very pleased" with the sale result.
"We're very pleased with how the bulls have turned out today," she said.
"We were very unsure with conditions in the market and how our sale would go."
She said structure and temperament were "empirical" to the stud's breeding programme.
"We're trying really hard on carcase as well," she said, adding that the bull's bred at Quamby Plains had excellent length and fertility.
Nutrien Tasmania studstock manager Jock Gibson said a lot of bulls were sold to the mainland.
He said the sale was "steady right through" and "fairly strong", despite the dry conditions hitting Tasmania of late.
"There was plenty of support," he said.
However, Mr Gibson said there were less buyers from King Island this year.
"Generally speaking, most other places had strong interest," he said.
William Fergusson, Grindstone Bay, Triabunna, Tasmania, bought four bulls at the sale - Lot 9 for $7000, Lot 26 for $6000, Lot 49 for $6000 and Lot 58 for $5000.
He said he liked the bulls because they were run under "commercial conditions".
"When you take them home, they'll perform," he said.
"They're run appropriately so that they will perform."
Mr Fergusson said the bulls will be run with his herd of commercial Hereford cows to produce cattle for finishing on-farm.
