Golden bull sale for Fairview black Simmentals despite threat of rain

The band of rain that moved through the Maranoa on the day of the sixth annual black Simmental bull sale at Fairview, north of Mungallala, might have discouraged a few potential buyers but it only had a good effect on the outcome.

Stud principals Tony Horvath and Roslyn Ware were able to record a 100 per cent clearance of all 48 bulls offered on Wednesday, August 20, for a top price of $19,500 and an average price of $9146.

The result was close to last year's final outcome of all 44 bulls sold, a top price of $20,000 and an average price of $10,773.

The top-priced bull might have had the undignified name of Fairview Underdaks U43 but his figures, bone and movement all had him clothed in appeal, for both Mr Horvath and the successful purchasers, Golden Grazing of Yuleba and Surat.

For the first time since he's been offering bulls via an on-property Helmsman sale, Mr Horvath named the bull as his pick of the draft, in the catalogue description, saying he was a heifer's first calf with heaps of grunt.

The 24-month-old bull is the son of WS Proclamation E202, one of WS Miss Sugar C4's progeny, who, in most matings, has produced a son that has ultimately gone on to outperform its sire.

Underdaks is both homozygous polled and homozygous black and weighed 720 kilograms.

He had a scrotal circumference of 40cm, P8 and rib fat measurements of 6 and 4 millimetres respectively, an eye muscle area of 122 square centimetres, and intramuscular fat of 5.4 per cent.

"You've just got very proven genetics there," Mr Horvath said. "I said, I think this guy's going to turn out alright. He's been matching it, weight-gain-wise, with the bulls out of older cows that have had a better start than he has, so he's caught right up with them.

His buyer, Richard Golden said the bulls they chase at the sale often tend to have a good eye muscle area, and three of the five bulls they were successful in buying had the top three EMAs in the sale.

"It is chasing volume in the part of the beast that has the highest dollar value cuts, because it has become something that is good for MSA grading," he said.

"If we have animals that we sell that the buyer wants an MSA grading, we're registered so we can take advantage of that."

However, he said the main things they liked about the Fairview bulls were their temperament and manageability, their ability to do well in tough times, and their fertility.

The bulls will go in with cows on Melbourne Cup Day for the Golden's commercial operation, which aims to get steers to feeder weight, and have replacement females.

The volume buyer of the sale was KF & KM Rule, Woodside, Charleville, taking home nine bulls, while the Noogilla Cattle Co, Woodlands, Mitchell bought six bulls.

Woodlands representative John Syme said it was their fifth year buying at the sale, because they liked the bulls' temperament, weight gain and hybrid vigour over their crossbred herd.

They run both a Droughtmaster-Simmental cross and a Brahman cross, and Mr Syme said heifers by a Brahman cow and black Simmental bull were just beautiful.

• Selling agent - Elders, interfaced with AuctionsPlus