Super sires attract strong demand at the Wirruna autumn sale

Bulls with high percentile growth estimated breeding values sold to strong demand today at the Wirruna Poll Hereford's autumn sale near Holbrook on February 27, with bulls and females selling to four states.

Wirruna Toorak T226, a new addition to the Herefords Australia super-sire list, sold to the top price of $26,000 and was purchased by Tarwin Poll Herefords, Meeniyan, Vic and Ke Warra Poll Herefords, Mornington, Vic.

The 30-month-old Tarcombe Maclean Q203 son out of Wirruna Flora Q441 weighed 984 kilograms with a 44 centimetre scrotal.

Of his 19 estimated breeding values, 12 were within the top 10 per cent of the breed, including his 200-day, 400-day, 600-day and carcase weight values of +55, +96, +134 and +96, all ranking in the top 1pc.

He also displayed a direct calving ease daughters figure of +16.2, a scrotal size figure of +4.5, as well an intramuscular fat figure of +2.5, all in the top 2pc, along with a mature cow weight figure of +110 in the top 3pc.

He also had +16.6 calving ease direct, placing him in the top 9pc, -6 days to calving, placing him in the top 10pc, +6.8 eye muscle area, placing him in the top 7pc and a docility value of +42, placing him in the top 8pc.

He was listed as a star lot of the sale, with Wirruna retaining 50pc semen rights.

The second top-priced bull of the sale was Wirruna Trait Leader T125, 972kg, purchased by David Young, Ensay, Vic, for $21,000.

He was another 30-month-old son of Tarcombe Maclean Q203 and out of Wirruna Golden Vanity R069.

Traiter Leader T125 also ranked in the top 1pc for his growth figures with values of +53, +92, +122 and +4.7 for his 200-, 400-, and 600-day weights and scrotal size, respectfully, as well as +90 carcase weight.

He also ranked in the top 2pc for days to calving and IMF, while being in the top 3pc for EMA with +7.6.

Wirruna stud principal Ian Locke said there was semen already sold from the bull into the United Kingdom and Ireland and he had always been one of his picks of the draft.

Purchaser David Young said he had been purchasing bulls from the stud for the past seven years for his 170 Hereford cow breeding operation.

"All of this is fact and EBV driven with the herd as much as anything," he said.

"I'm trying to get my herd well and truly elevated with the EBVs so the buyers that buy my steers and secondary cattle know they will do when they get them.

"For me, it's all about turning off yearling cattle that do as much as I can get them to do while I have them at 16 months."

The producer also purchased Wirruna Underline U033, sired by Tobruk Southern Cross S15, for $15,000.

He was also one of the first sons of the $91,000 sire to be offered by Wirruna.

In the stud females, two pregnancy-tested-in-calf cows reached the top price of $5500.

The first was Wirunna Madam R020, a Koanui Techno 3062 daughter, purchased by Houston Pastoral, East Maitland.

The four-and-a-half-year-old female recorded a gestation length value of -7.1 in the top 1pc, along with a scrotal size value of +4.0 and a days to calving figure of -7.1, placing her in the top 3pc.

The second top-price female was a two-and-a-half-year-old cow, Wirruna Golden Vanity T308, purchased by R and M Dawson, Moura, Queensland.

The Wirruna Roberto daughter recorded a days to calving figure of -7.7, placing her in the top 2pc, a rib fat value of +2.5, placing her in the top 3pc, along with a rump fat value of +3.5 placing her in the top 4pc and a birthweight value of +0.0 and an IMF figure of +2, both placing her in the top 6pc.

The Queensland purchasers also purchased two bulls to average $9500.

Volume buyers were active throughout the draft with Braidwood Station, Jundah, Qld, purchasing eight bulls to a top of $8000 to average $6250.

In the females, Harbrae Herefords, Talgarno, Vic, secured three cows averaging $3000.

Long-time clients Wooling Pastoral Company, Crookwell, also secured three bulls, paying to $17,000 and averaging $14,000.

Nikka Cowlishaw, Wooling Pastoral Company, said her parents Alex and Dianna started purchasing bulls from the Locke family 21 years ago for the 650 Hereford female breeding operation.

"We like the Wirruna bulls because they work really well over our heifers, and we find that even though some of them may not be branded as an easy-calve bull, they are easy-calving," she said.

"They produce beautiful calves and are fantastic over our heifers."

The family runs a commercial self-replacing herd, with the main market for steers and surplus heifers being AuctionsPlus.

While the family joins their first calvers to the Wirunna sires, they also join Bowen Poll Hereford bulls over their mature cow herd.

All up, 55 of 66 bulls sold averaged $9164, while all 12 stud females sold to a top price of $5500 twice.

Four of the five pens of PTIC cows sold to $2100 to average $1985.

Mr Locke said he started the day a little apprehensive about the clearance but in the end, he was delighted.

"I thought there was solid support all the way through," he said.

"There seems to be an even spread of bull across the board, which has achieved pretty good prices for me and hopefully good value for the clients that got them.

"With an 83pc clearance I'm very happy."

The Helmsman auction was interfaced with AuctionsPlus and settled by Nutrien Ag Solutions, Holbrook.