Santa Gertrudis on the up and up at Watasanta: NSW and Queensland buyers active
Santa Gertrudis cattle are on the up and up, says Neil Watson, principal of the Watasanta stud, Tamworth, with sale-topping efforts of the breed at cattle sales in the last two weeks at Alice Springs, NT, Tamworth, Wagga and Dubbo and the Queensland centres of Dalby and Roma.
Backing his observations, the Watasanta Santa Gertrudis stud's 17th annual sale sold to a top of $50,000, with a 100 per cent clearance of all lines.
The 39 Santa Gertrudis bulls averaged $14,051, 13 Black Santa bulls sold to $24,000, averaging $10,000, and 19 heifers topped at $2750 and averaged $2671.
The buyer of the sale topper, Watasanta Vice President 3312, was Quigley Cattle Company and Nominees in Partnership, Blaxland via Colo in the Hawkesbury district.
Aged 22 months, Vice President weighed 802 kilograms, with an eye muscle area of 122 square centimetres, and had a scrotal size of 38 centimetres, and an intramuscular fat of 4.3pc.
Mr Watson said Vice President was one of his favourites in the catalogue, a dark-coated bull with a good underline and a strong sire head.
Glenn Oaks Sterling S314 sired the bull out of a Watasanta Humdinger 1845 female. Mr Watson said the dam was a grand champion female in an ACM Beef Battle and a 25pc semen share had been retained.
The top-priced Black Santa bull was the $24,000, V80-BSCC Voltage, sired by BSCC Longhaul.
Aged 22 months, the bull weighed 880kg, with an EMA of 128sq cm and an IMF of 6pc. Its mobility and morphology percentages were, respectively, 97pc and 93pc.
It was bought by Bart Officer, Bell Park, Kenilworth, Qld, who is a repeat buyer at the stud.
Mr Officer said his new bull would be joined to 13 Black Santa Cattle Company heifers he bought in April, to expand his herd of Black Santas. He said demand was building in Queensland for the Black Santas.
"I can only say one word about the Black Santas, and that's fertility," he said.
Through GDL, Dalby, Qld, Dunlop Cattle Company paid $35,000 for Watasanta Viscount 3240, a son of Glenn Oaks Ransom R38 out of a Watasanta Landrover female.
Aged 24 months, he weighed 808kg, with an EMA of 125sq cm, an SS of 38cm, and an IMF of 4.2pc.
Anvil Creek Cattle Company, Mount Seaview, paid $30,000 for Watasanta Voicemail 3190, sired by Drensmaine Extol E222 out of a Hardigreen Park Ringer female.
It weighed 902kg, had an EMA of 132sq cm and an IMF of 5.0pc.
Mr Watson said the strength of the sale was the return buyers from NSW and Qld as well as a number of first-time buyers.
Inglewood Wallabadah Pastoral Company bought eight bulls averaging $9750, while online bidder, Mark Grady, Niangala, bought eight females averaging $2750.
Two more volume buyers from Queensland were Dale Stephenson, Coolbinga Station, Quilpie, also bidding online, who bought seven bulls averaging $8000, while Blaine Sargood, Charleville, bought four bulls averaging $7500.
Widden Stud, Scone, bought two bulls averaging $9000, while PA O'Dell, Greenmount, Bingara, bought three bulls averaging $11,333.
The selling agents were GDL, Dalby, Queensland, with Mark Duthie as the auctioneer. StockLive provided the online interface.
