Rain boosts Nunniong Hereford sale as top bull heads to Omeo family
Nunniong Hereford stud principal Phillip 'Bluey' Commins says a recent burst of rain across the district has helped improve his clearance rate after selling more than half of his bulls at auction.
The Ensay stud sold 19 of 34 bulls on Wednesday to a top price of $10,000 and a sale average of $6078.
In 2025, the stud sold just 14 bulls at auction to a top price of $12,000, recording a sale average of $6357 and a clearance rate of just 44 per cent, compared to 55pc this year.
"It's probably the best offering of bulls I've ever had," Mr Commins said.
"They are all pretty sound and they are big, strong, lengthy and meaty bulls and the clearance was helped by all that rain we had about a week ago.
"The result of this sale was a little better than last year and I'm just really grateful to the repeat buyers who returned today to secure some of the bulls on offer."
Buyers from across the areas of Omeo, Swifts Creek and Benambra bought a bulk of the Hereford bulls on offer, just one week after the iconic Mountain Calf Sales took place.
The top-priced bull, Lot 4, Nunniong Sandman V032, was bought by Alan and Noeleen Smith, Innisfail, Cobungra River, for $10,000.
Mr and Mrs Smith said they had bought bulls from Nunniong Herefords since the alpine bushfires in the early 2000s.
"We first bought a bull from Bluey in 2003, the same year of the bushfires, when we bought two and since then we have been buying one bull ever second year," Mrs Smith said.
"We run about 80 breeding females now and breed calves to sell in Omeo at March.
"We don't really take the figures into consideration all that much, but if we like the look of a bull, that is what we go for and we love that what you see is what you get."
Lot 4 recorded Hereford Breedplan figures of +4.5 kilograms birth weight, a 200-day weight of +38kg, a 400-day weight of +65kg and a 600-day weight of +89kg, with +1.0 for rib, +2.2 rump and an eye muscle area of +3.4 square centimetres.
The Ah Sam family, Ah Sam & Co, Omeo, was the only buyer to purchase three bulls, including Lot 7, Nunniong Zappy V029, for $6000, Lot 11, for $6000, and Lot 14, Nunniong Snoopy V115, for $6000.
Among some of the other high country buyers was Joe Connley and Trudy Anderson, WG & PM Connley, Benambra, who bought Lot 12, Nunniong Quandong V138, for $7500, and Lot 34, Nunniong Reflect V084, for $6000.
D & A Hayward, Omeo, bought Lot 6, Nunniong Reflect V054, for $6000, and Lot 33, Nunniong Snoopy V136, for $6000, while Tony and Joanne Prendergast, AM & EJ Prendergast, Swifts Creek, bought Lot 9, Nunniong Snoopy V141, for $6000, and Lot 19, and Nunniong Zappy V140, for $6000.
Dean and Jason Walsh, Granite Flats Pastoral Company, Mitta Mitta, bought one bull, Lot 1, Nunniong Quandong B051, for $6000.
Earlier in the day, Granite Flats Pastoral Company bought two bulls at the Newcomen Hereford sale for $9500 and $10,000, respectively.
"We run around the place at this time of year, going everywhere from Gippsland to northern NSW to bull bulls that suit our operation," Dean said.
"We have a few black baldy cows, but mainly Herefords, and basically grow everything out and sell them to whoever gives us the most money - AMG or Greenhams, for instance."
Tough trade at Tambo Angus as seven bulls average $4285
Tambo Angus stud, Tambo Crossing, sold seven bulls at auction following the Nunniong Herefords sale.
Kevin and Mandy Dean and their family sold seven Angus bulls to a top price of $5000 twice and an average of $4285.
Five bulls were passed in at the Ensay sale.
Mr Dean described the sale as "tough going", but was pleased to pick up two new buyers, who bought five of the seven bulls on sale.
Those buyers included Rob and Kathleen Wilson, Tambo Crossing, who bought three bulls to $4000 three times, and John Kennedy, Nicholson, who bought two bulls for $4000 twice.
The two equal top-priced bulls, lots 1 and 2, were both knocked down for $5000 to the Mitchell family of Ensay Station, Ensay, and Don Ross, Nicholson.
