Gold Crest Limousin sale sees strong result with increased females on offer
Buyers after a quality female at the Gold Crest Limousin sale in Crows Nest on Saturday, August 23, were in luck, as there were double the number of cow and calf units on offer this year compared to the 2024 sale.
There were 16 cow and calf units in the catalogue this year, an increase of 8 from the previous year's sale, with 14 dry females and 21 stud bulls also available for purchase.
Of the 30 females on offer, 26 sold under the hammer for a clearance rate of 87 per cent and an average of $4615.
The top-priced female, Benjarra Quocktail, sold for $8500 to Corey and Mikaela Evans, Jen-Daview Limousins, Kingaroy, while the top-priced bull, Gold Crest Mshake U53, went for $12,000 to Lisa Sunners and Logan McShane, L and L Grazing, Eskdale.
In the bull ring, 13 of the 21 lots offered sold for a 62 per cent clearance and an average of $7769.
Overall, 39 of the 51 lots on offer at the sale sold for a clearance of 76 per cent, a sale average of $5667, and an overall sale gross of $221,000.
At the previous year's sale, 45 out of 49 lots sold for a 92 per cent clearance, with a top female price of $5500 and a top bull price of $17,000.
Gold Crest Limousin stud principal Darren Hartwig said more cows and calves were on offer this year as the stud had recently downsized due to the loss of their agistment block, with the increased lot offering presenting a rare opportunity for buyers.
All but two cow and calf units sold under the hammer for a clearance rate of 88 per cent and an average of $4464.
"I'm exceptionally happy with our female draft and how they sold," Mr Hartwig said.
"It went better than our expectations by a fair bit, and it was good to see them going out to numerous studs, and to see some commercial people getting into them.
"To see them get up to Blackall and down to Dubbo is a good spread on the females, and seeing the repeat buyers in the bulls is very pleasing."
Top-priced bull buyers Lisa Sunners and Logan McShane also purchased the top-priced bulls in 2024, and said the success of their previous year's purchases ensured their return to the Gold Crest sale.
They purchased three bulls for an average of $10,333 a head at the 2025 sale.
The pair operate a commercial breeding operation, trading under L and L Grazing, over 2400 acres [971 hectares] at Eskdale, in the Somerset region.
"We've got 110 heifers to mate this year, so we needed some really growthy bulls and a couple of smaller ones, and we're super happy with the ones we got," Ms Sunners said.
The 2025 top-priced bull, Gold Crest Mshake U53, was sired by Gold Crest Milkshake and out of Goldstein Park Montana April.
He weighed in at 688kg, had an eye muscle area of 127 square centimetres, 10mm of rump fat, and 8mm of rib fat.
"We're black speargrass country [at Eskdale], and it is hard country, and these bulls do exceptionally well," Mr McShane said.
"We seriously can't fault them."
"They're just fantastic bulls," Ms Sunners added.
"Their temperament is faultless, and we can't praise them enough, so we thought we'd come back to get a few more this year."
The top-priced female buyer, Corey Evans, said he purchased the cow to introduce new bloodlines on his Kingaroy based stud, Jen-Daview Limousins.
Benjarra Quocktail was sired by Five Star Canadian Club and out of Benjarra Heidi.
"She's done a fair job for Darren, so I took the opportunity to take her on," Mr Evans said.
A bulk buyer at the sale, Mr Evans, trading under Jen-Daview Limousins, purchased four lots plus one progeny for an average of $5125.
An additional bulk buyer at the sale was Haycott Proprietary Limited, Warra, who purchased four lots for an average of $6500.
- Selling agents: GDL
