A lifetime of breeding offered at Courallie J Herefords dispersal

With a stud breeding history dating back to 1949, Jim Hann's Courallie J Hereford stud offered the last of its herd on Friday March 14, in an online dispersal.

The sale reached a top of $8250 for an 18-month-old bull, while the cow and calf packages reached a top-price of $5750 twice, with the heifer portion made up to $4750.

Buyers active throughout the sale ranged from southern Queensland, down into the Monaro as well as into Tasmania.

The top-price bull Courallie J DCP005 Prime U034, was purchased by Staines Partnership, Guluguba, Queensland.

The 18-month-old Doodle Coom Prime Time son recorded estimated breeding values of -3.1 for gestation length, +42 for 200-day weight and +12.2 for calving ease daughters, all placing him on the top 15 per cent of the breed.

He also recorded his 400-day, 600-day, milk, carcase weight and eye muscle area figures in the top 20pc with values of +68, +97, +22, +66, +5.6, respectively.

The operation also purchased an additional three bulls for an overall average of $4867.

In the cow and calf draft of the catalogue, two pairs claimed the top price of $5750, both purchased by long-time supporters of the Hann family breeding operation, David Hunt, Hunt Agriculture, Moree.

The first female was Courallie J P005 Fancy S014, a three-year-old descendent of Glentrevor Wallace H427, who was offered with a seven-month-old heifer calf beside her and back in calf to Dalkeith Sloan S043.

Fancy S014 displayed a calving ease daughters figure in the top 8pc with a value of +13.0 while also recording four traits in the top 20pc; these included a calving ease direct figure of +12.9, -2.7 for gestation length, +22 for milk and +1.5 for retail beef yield.

The second duo to reach the top price was Courallie J DCP005 Necklet T032, a two-and-a-half-year-old Doodle Cooma Prime Time daughter, who was offered an Oldfield Tolkien T131 heifer calf while being pregnancy-tested-in-calf.

She recorded a 600-day weight figure of +103, ranking her in the top 10pc, while also displaying 200-day, 400-day and retail beef yield values of +43, +71 and +1.6, in the top 15pc, respectively.

The first calver also placed in the top 20pc for carcase weight with a figure of +68.

Purchaser David Hunt said he had been purchasing bulls from the Hann family for many years during the 70 years of his family breeding Hereford cattle, which now run 300 breeders throughout a mixed farming operation in the state's north.

"I thought it was a good opportunity to get some new genetics inot my herd, I was looking for the top end of what Jimmy had," he said.

"The main reason we bought those cows was that I thought, looking through the mob, they had the best calves on them."

Mr Hunt said he was chasing females with Glentrevor Wallce H427 in their pedigree, with the plan to join them to Marrawa-blood bulls once they calve to then produce bulls for his own operation.

Mr Hunt also took home Courallie J H427 Carnation P028 for $3250.

In the heifer draft of the catalogue, Robert Hain, Gunyah Herefords, Cooma, purchased the top-priced hefier Courallie J H417 Marianne U006, for $4750.

The one-and-a-half-year-old Glentrevor Wallace H427 daughter displayed a calving ease daughters EBV of +11.2, placing her in the top 15pc.

Mr Hain also purchased an additional four females for an average of $2950.

Purchaser Robert Hain said the females were a moderate, easy-doing type, with soft skin, traits in which he liked in his cattle.

"A couple of the Linet females, when I went back through the pedigree I found out they originated from here in the 1970s," Mr Hain said.

"I thought if I want to get a few more of those females, I'd like to get some that came from here."

Overall the sale resulted in 28 of 54 cow and calf packages sold to a top of $5750, twice, with an average of $3464 while 10 of the 20 heifers sold to a top of $4750 for and average of $2909.

Of the 11 bulls eight sold to a top of $8250 for an average of $4094.

Courallie J stud principal Jim Hann said he was pleased to see the spread of area in which the cattle sold to.

"I'm certainly not going to forget Hereford cattle because they have been in my life," Mr Hann said.

The sale was conducted by Nutrien Narrabri, with AuctionsPlus providing the online platform.