Speckle Park sale sees 'ripper' of a bull sell to Queensland Droughtmater stud

A multi-vendor Speckle Park sale has seen a "bloody ripper" of a bull sell to a central Queensland buyer for a mega sum.

At the Blueprint Opportunity Speckle Park Sale held at Jackungah Speckle Park, Pine Lodge, on Friday, Anden Speckle Parks, Swan Hill, sold Lot 20, Anden T25, for $24,000.

The bull, an embryo import from New Zealand, was reserve senior champion Speckle Park at the recent Sydney Royal Show.

The sale-topper was sold online to Mac and Gayle Shann, Cantaur Park, Clermont, Qld.

The couple run the Cantaur Park Droughtmaster stud with approximately 1000 breeders and Mr Shann judges hundreds of cattle every year.

Speaking to Stock & Land, he described how he had picked up some Speckle Park-cross steers in recent weeks and was really impressed with them.

The bull will be the first pedigree Speckle Park to be used on the farm, and will be joined with Droughtmaster and Droughtmaster/Charolais cows in September.

The calves will be run on and sold as feeder steers at 450-500 kilograms, a system the Speckle Park should be very suitable for, according to Mr Shann.

"Life is pretty short, really, and there's no need to be stuck in just one thing," he said.

He said Speckle Park cattle had plenty of stretch and good frame, something which attracted the couple to the Canadian breed.

"I judged them a while back, and we thought a lot of them," he said.

"We thought we'd give them a good shot and get a good one."

Mr Shann said the top-priced bull had looked well in the photos and videos prior to the sale, and "word of mouth" sent him on the hunt to make the purchase.

Anden stud co-principal Denita Donnan, Swan Hill, said the bull was a "bloody ripper", while other co-principal Andrew Donnan said the bull will do a "real good job" for the Shann family.

The Donnans had used the bull, with calves yet to drop, and kept some semen.

"He was an outstanding animal all the way through his growing life, so I was hoping he was going to get rewarded and he did," he said.

"I'm pretty happy with that."

Mr Donnan said the bull had good growth.

The August 2022-drop bull weighed 940kg and was in the top 10 per cent of the breed for 200-day and 400-day weights and fertility.

The sale topper was sired by Mauncahina Legacy and out of SPKNZ SPN F1.

In total, the multi-vendor sale saw six pregnancy-tested-in-calf heifers offered, 24 unjoined heifers, 16 bulls and a number of semen and embryo packages.

The heifers saw the strongest buying with lesser demand for the bulls, perhaps due to the dry conditions across southern Australia.

Cattle sold to all corners of Victoria and into South Australia, NSW and Queensland.

Twenty-two lots sold online with 154 online spectators and 41 bidders logged in.

A total of eight bulls sold from the 16 offered for an average of $6625 and to the top of $24,000.

A total of 27 heifers sold from the 30 offered for an average of $5092 and to a top of $10,000.

Another two heifers sold after the sale, bringing the average to $4855.

The top-priced heifer, Lot 1, Jackungah Luo's Secret, was sold by the host of the sale, Jackungah Speckle Park, Pine Lodge.

The top-priced heifer was a May 2023-drop calf and was unjoined.

The heifer was sired by KFC Judgement Call 301J and out of Jackungah Luo's Secret P19.

The sale-topper was bought by another Queensland buyer, Stacey and Dale Jones, Ivery Downs, Colinton, Qld.

They also picked up two other heifers and some semen at the sale, the first time they had attended in person.

Ms Jones said Lot 1 was a "nice, even heifer with a broad muzzle".

"We've quite a few of the Jackungah females and they transition very well to our Queensland climate," she said.

"That's not always the case with southern cattle."

The Jones family had 200 Speckle Park stud breeders and 1000 mixed-breed cows.

Ms Jones said it was a combination of the top-priced heifer's figures and phenotype that saw them bring her to $10,000.

"They have to be functional first and foremost because they could have the best figures in the world, but if they can't perform in our climate, then they don't pass any of those genetics on," she said.

The heifer will be joined in September or October.

Jackungah Speckle Park stud principal Jack Nelson said he was "very happy" with the sale result.

"Heifers were exceptional," he said.

"Our bull clearance wasn't as good as we'd hoped, but the top price was very good."

He said the sale received support from plenty of return clients as well as some new buyers from the north, including the Shann and Jones families.

Guest vendors included the Ewyn Speckle Park, Balhannah, SA, Baw Baw, Speckle Park, Yarragon, Bonkonia Speckle Park, Goughs Bay, and Phoenix Park Speckle Park, Pyalong.

"You get the best of each program," Mr Nelson said.

"We're all aiming for something different, using different genetics, so it's an opportunity to have the best of all worlds."