Ennerdale Hereford stud tops at $12,000, sell bulls to four states at sale
Ennerdale Hereford stud, Dundonnell, sold 16 of the 33 bulls offered at their annual on-property sale for an average of $6094.
The sale peaked early, reaching a top of $12,000 for Lot 2 Ennerdale Conqueror who sold to a repeat buyer from south-east Victoria.
Top-priced buyer Geoff Johnston drove all the way from Bairnsdale to asses the catalogue of bulls in person and picked up two at auction, Lot 2 for $12,000 and Lot 7 for $8000.
Mr Johnston and his family have been breeding Herefords for 65 years and purchased bulls from the Ennerdale stud two years ago which have performed well for them.
"We pick them for their bloodlines, temperament and their dark skin colour," Mr Johnston said.
"I have a look at the numbers but I have to go see a bull in the paddock."
Bulls sold to four states with clients across Victoria, a buyer from Mount Gambier, South Australia, two Tasmanian buyers operating online on AuctionsPlus and one bull sold post-sale into New South Wales.
Both of the Tasmanian buyers were repeat buyers with one bull purchased for $7000 by long-time client Geoff Heazlewood, 'Mersey Bank', Latrobe, Tasmania, who has been using Ennerdale bulls for almost 20 years.
The other Tasmania-bound bull was bought for $7000 by L & J Fry, Launceston, Tasmania.
However, the majority of the bulls sold locally with notable sales to Glendan Park Herefords, Redesdale, who picked up Lot 22 for $7000, and Tim King, Caramut, who bought Lot 11 for $5000.
Ennerdale stud principal Kate Luckock said the spread of the buyers was a great support to the sale.
"It's really tough going around here so it was always going to be hard to sell bulls locally and understandably, we've been through it too," she said.
"It's been very challenging," Ms Luckock said of the persistent dry conditions that have plagued Victoria's south-west region for the past 18-months.
"A lot of people are likening the conditions to the 1960s drought which dad always said was the worst one he saw.
"At the moment it's a normal summer but it's what we've been through for the last 18 months."
Ms Luckock said given the conditions the sale was operating in, they were extremely grateful to the repeat buyers that came back to support the sale.
"We also had a few new buyers today which is always nice to see," she said.
