Graneta sale surpasses expectations, with spirited bidding from repeat buyers
A 100 per cent clearance of 57 bulls for a much better average at last Thursday's Graneta Angus sale near Bell was attributed to improved genetics and the current market.
The top priced bull for the Gaffney family, Graneta Resource U59 was bought by repeat buyer, Todd Wathen, Nullin, Yuleba, for $23,000, surpassing last year's top price of $16,000 by $7000.
The sale grossed $649,000 and had an average price of $11,385, which again was far better than last year's average of $8406.
The 22-month-old Graneta Resource U59 was sired by Ascot Resource R305 and was out of Graneta Kate R79.
The bull was described in the catalogue as a typical Graneta type with great bone, loads of muscle and all carcase.
Weighing 840 kilograms, the bull had a P8 rump and rib fat of 8 millimetres and 6mm respectively, an eye muscle area of 131 square centimetres and scrotal circumference of 40 cm. Its IMF percentage was 5.7 and 85 per cent motility.
Two other repeat buyers were Tom Green, Camm Agriculture Group, Charters Towers, who bought seven bulls for an average of $8285, and Cameron and Sarah Hudson, Maranoa Downs, Mitchell, who bought nine bulls for an average of $14,013.
Mr Green said Camm Agriculture had a mixed breed composite herd and had been using Angus genetics for almost a decade.
He said he was after bulls that suited their pastoral business at Charters Towers, and which were persistent, robust and high quality.
"And Graneta is a good fit for the business," he said.
"I think the bulls speak for themselves, but it's also the relationship and the work that Graneta is putting into their program, and their follow-up is great,
"Their willingness to adapt their operation to suit their customers, that's really to be commended."
Mr Hudson, who runs a cross-breed herd of 1800 breeders with Limousin, Angus, Simmental and Droughtmaster bulls on 100,000 acres, said he bought some of the bulls for his brother and his wife, Murray and Kylie, at Tongy.
Mr Hudson said this was the ninth year they had bought Graneta bulls.
"For us, they're just good, big growthy fellows with bone, and plenty of flesh and meat on them," he said.
"There were a few bulls in there with a low birth weight as well, in the one package, to go over some heifers."
Mr Hudson said about 25pc of their bulls were Angus.
"Angus at the moment is the flavor of the year...as far as cents per kilogram go into the feedlots," he said.
"But, it's also their doability and...them crossed over our Limousin cows, it's a pretty good article and they finish so well."
The sale at Glendale, Bell, is run by stud principals Peter and Samantha Gaffney, and Jon and Leny Gaffney. It was their 11th on property sale, but they had been selling as a stud since 2001.
Peter Gaffney said the sale was above and beyond his expectations.
"I was only expecting a 10pc rise, and it's been a 30pc rise on last year's sale," he said.
Mr Gaffney put the better figures down to a combination of better genetics and a better market.
"We're breeding for buyers coming through, but we're trying to get a clean coated animal, Angus traditionally, but that has that bone coming through and thickness and muscle and all the qualities, which we had with the Limousins.
"We want to bring that into the Angus world."
The Gaffneys previously had a Limousin stud and bought their first Angus cows in 2014.
"We always had the Angus in our article doing crossbred bulls, (but) it didn't really take off so we just joined the cows to Angus bulls," he said.
Mr Gaffney said they would join 440 breeders, but that could potentially expand out to 600 breeders this year, so they had 80 bulls for next year's sale.
At the start of the sale, Mr Gaffney told buyers that they bred Angus bulls for Queensland conditions and climate.
He said buyers wanted the slick coat and adaptability in Queensland environmental conditions.
"We've bought southern cows before and through the peak of summer they're out grazing at 12 o'clock in the day in plus 40 degree heat while our cows camp up under tree lines about 9 o'clock and they learn how to adapt in those environments," he said.
"And that's what we're trying to emphasise and push through our progeny and on to the buyers."
Mr Gaffney wasn't surprised that Graneta Resource U59 was the top-priced bull, adding he picked him out before the sale.
He said it was his thickness in the bone and shape that made him a standout.
"He's the pinnacle of our breeding achievements, of what we're trying to breed into the Angus cattle in the industry," he said.
- Agents: KellCo Rural Agencies, and TopX Roma, with AuctionsPlus and Stocklive.
