New Dunoon bloodline pays off for Bowman Angus at on-property sale
Pictures by Petra Oates
A Dunoon Recharge son has topped the Bowman Performance Genetics on-property sale at Neerim South.
The $16,000 top-priced bull, Lot 14, Bowman Recharge V137, was a highlight of the South Gippsland sale on Friday and one of eight Dunoon Recharge R102 sons on offer.
Bowman stud principal Glenn Bowman said it was a new bloodline for the stud.
"We bought semen straws from Dunoon Recharge off Agri-Gene," Mr Bowman said.
The 18-month-old bull was in the top 2 per cent of the breed for the Angus breeding index.
He also showcased estimated breeding values in the top 1pc of the breed for 600-day growth and carcase weight at +167 kilograms and +122kg, respectively.
"It's pretty hard to beat his growth figures and he's a beautiful looking bull too," Mr Bowman said.
The bull was bought by local stud and commercial operator Ben Whiteley, who runs the recently established stud Dryburgh Angus down the road from the Bowman family.
Mr Whiteley was unable to attend the sale but operated online and secured three bulls for his stud and his commercial herd of 850 Angus cows.
The second top-priced bull was $500 short of the sale topper.
Lot 26, Bowman Tomcat V267, was bought for $15,500 by returning clients Lou Maher and his daughter Jasmine, Meerlieu.
The Maher family also bought a second bull, Lot 18, Bowman Nectar V88, for $12,000.
The bulls will go back to service their commercial herd of about 300 Angus cows.
"We sell the weaners at 10-12-months-old and the Bowman bulls do really well for us," Mr Maher said.
"We are regenerative grazers and we like that the Bowman bulls do really well on grass and aren't pumped full of grain."
The Mahers' most recent offering of weaner steers made a top of $2090 a head at the Bairnsdale store sale last week.
In total, Bowman sold 49 Angus bulls from 60 offered to average $8520.
Mr Bowman said he was very happy with the sale which saw a $1226 lift in the average price year-on-year.
Last autumn, the stud sold 51 of the 69 Angus bulls on offer to average $7294 and top at $17,000.
Bulls stayed mostly local, going back to commercial breeders in South and East Gippsland, but Mr Bowman said the stud was gradually expanding its reach.
"The people that bought at the top-end were very focused on calving ease and good growth all wrapped up in the carcase performance data," he said.
"We had a new client from Lancefield that bought a bull today and two bull went to Cressy in Tasmania."
There was also strong competition from King Island, Tas, on AuctionsPlus, but the two major operators from the island were unable to secure any bulls.
Commercial breeders Gem-Brae Ag were also prominent volume buyers at the sale, purchasing five bulls including Lot 15 for $8000, Lot 22 for $6000, Lot 33 for $8000, Lot 35 for $7000 and Lot 37 for $6000.
Elders agent Don Bowman was at the sale buying on behalf of Gem-Brae Ag, which runs about 1400 Angus cows and calves across three main properties at Lang Lang, Finley, NSW, and Nyngan, NSW.
Elders Delaney Livestock & Property director Anthony was another volume operator present at the sale.
Mr Delaney bought at least seven Angus bulls for multiple clients based in Gippsland and the Yarra Valley.
He was sitting alongside Elders Bairnsdale livestock manager Morgan Davies, who bought four bulls for multiple East Gippsland breeders operating in the high country.
