Ag minister among loyal clients to buy up big at Kilkenny Charolais sale

The consistent performance and reliability of Kilkenny Charolais bulls was evident at Woolooga on Friday, August 22, when repeat buyers of up to three decades pushed the average above last year's results.

The Lawlor family's annual sale saw a complete clearance of 78 bulls for an average of $10,294 and a top of $18,000.

In 2024, all 77 Charolais bulls sold to average $9312, and top at $16,000.

While there was some room in the grandstands, the crowd that was on hand included 38 successful and serious buyers from well-regarded commercial operations.

The auctioneers had no time to offer pre-sale spiels with values above the starting price regularly being offered by the crowd as soon as they could.

Primary Industries Minister and Kilkivan producer Tony Perrett, and his wife Michele, were in the stands and walked away as bulk buyers with eight bulls averaging $9750.

The repeat clients of many years filled their order within the last 20 odd bulls of the sale before Mr Perrett headed back to Brisbane.

The top price buyers Rob, Jenny and Amber Grieve, Paradise Grazing, Nanango, were also loyal supporters of Kilkenny genetics, and secured the sale topping 21-month-old, Kilkenny U390E.

The white coloured, horned son of Kilkenny Q1F and Charnelle Digna 124 weighed 760 kilograms with P8 and rib fat depths of nine and eight millimetres, a 129 square centimetre eye muscle area and 4.9pc intramuscular fat.

He was 38.5cm in the scrotum and had 80pc motility semen.

The Grieves run a cow calf operation, selling weaners through Shepherdson Boyd through their sales at Toogoolawah.

"Michael [Lawlor] would know exactly, but we've been buying here for over 30 years," Mr Grieves said.

"They are good bulls and they do well."

While other producers may sway away from horned bulls, they were often preferred by the Grieves for their extra bone.

"We look for something with a decent head for a start...we just believe that if you've got a good headed animal, the rest follows."

Paradise Grazing also paid $15,000 for Kilkenny U100.

After securing some bulls at a Charolais sale the day before, Mr Grieves said they had filled their order.

AuctionsPlus accounted for six bulls, including some to agencies as far as Emerald.

Basalt Grazing, Soda Valley Station, Hughenden, secured five bulls averaging $11,800, while RA and KA Crozier, Lynton Hills Station, Charleville, purchased five to average $8600.

Bulls were also bound for areas including Theebine, Beaudesert, Taroom, Avoca Vale, Kilcoy, Winya, Bowenville, Gayndah, Gigoomgan, Cinnabar, Esk, Monto, Toogoolawah, Manumbar, Tandora, Kumbia and Blackbutt.

Stud principal of the Taroom-based stud, Michael Lawlor said the sale was very firm all the way through, with no low spots.

Many of the buyers were repeat clients, or their neighbours, who had seen the job the Kilkenny bulls had done for them.

"We don't believe in feeding the bulls right up, we only give them a silage ration," he said.

"They're all bred at Eidsvold in forest country, 1200 cows and we just treat them as normal commercial cattle - there's no fuss with them."

The size of the national cow herd and confidence in the cattle market was helping Charolais sales achieve solid results, he said.

"Our cow herd is probably the highest it's been for a long time so naturally people are wanting bulls and the buoyancy of the cattle market at the moment is is also as high as it is," he said.

"People have got a few dollars in their pocket, they can see a well above average spring with the way it's shaping up ahead, so it just gives them a little bit of confidence in the market, which does help."

• Agents: Sullivan Livestock and Shepherdson and Boyd