Top price Huntington bull goes to buyer who nearly pulled out of the bidding twice

The buyer of the top price bull at the third Huntington Charbray Toogoolawah Bull Sale nearly pulled out of the bidding twice due to stiff competition.

But, in the end, Viv Hunt, Dellyvon Charbrays, Dululu, stayed the distance paying $21,000 for Huntington Umbro, who was awarded senior champion Charbray bull at the recent Royal Queensland Show.

The Welsh family's sale on Saturday, August 16, at Toogoolawah saw all 29 bulls sold for 100 per clearance, an average price of $9931 and a gross of $288,000.

Last year, 29 bulls sold for 100pc clearance, an average price of $6069 and a top of $22,000.

A repeat buyer, Mr Hunt said he thought Huntington Umbro had plenty of bone for a poll bull and looked brilliant in the sale video.

"He had a good poll head on him, he had a tidy top line and a nice square rear end on him and I just thought he was a pretty handy looking bull," he said.

Weighing 816 kilograms at 21 months old, Huntington Umbro was sired by Huntington Polo and was out of Huntington Sophie R151.

It had a P8 and rib fat of 11 millimetres and 7mm, an eye muscle area of 125 square centimetres and a scrotal circumference of 39.5cm. His intramuscular fat was 4.9per cent, with semen motility of 80pc and morphology of 79pc.

Mr Hunt joked he only bought the one bull because after paying $21,000, he couldn't afford a second one.

With a Charbray stud of his own for the past 13 years with 120 breeders, Mr Hunt said Umbro would hopefully breed him some good bulls and heifers.

He said he went into Charbrays because they had a good temperament and handled central Queensland conditions.

"I had a few Charbray cows I picked up and they handled the conditions, the dry conditions and cold winters and ticks better than (the others)," he said.

"They don't have any dramas with calving and have tiny little calves the size of a Blue Heeler.

"Yet, when you wean them, they're 300kg...they start out small, but they just stack the beef on...I just think they're a good breed."

Mr Hunt said he needed to buy another bull after losing one just recently in the paddock, possibly from a snake bite, and thought lots one and four were the pick of the sale.

"I think someone started the bidding (on Lot 1) at...eight (thousand), I went to 10, then someone went 12, so I went to 14, and then it went to 16, and I was thinking I can't do that," he said.

"Then they said they'd take ones now, so I went to 17, and then it went up to 19, and I nearly pulled out then, and then it went to 20, and I thought 'oh s**t, I'll give it one more go.

"In the early bit, there were four or five people chasing him."

Speaking on behalf of the Taroom-based Welsh family, Matt Welsh said the sale at Toogoolawah went extremely well and was a good area for marketing their cattle.

"We've always said that we'd go down there and stick at it for the long term, and it's really starting to pay off," he said.

Mr Welsh said there were mainly repeat buyers and a few new ones at the sale, coming from the local area and as far south as Tenterfield, NSW, north to Gin Gin and west to Taroom.

He said while the top price was less than last year, the first half of the draft of 15 bulls averaged just under $14,000.

Nine bulls were bought online on Stocklive for an average of $10,111.

A volume buyer, Brisbane Valley based Cair Conditioning Pty Ltd, bought five bulls for an average of $6400.

• Agents: Shepherdson & Boyd and simulcast by Stocklive.