So Right and Craftsman sons dominate the Wattletop Angus bull sale at Guyra
Long-time New England and Queensland clients were among the big bidders for a catalogue of commercially-relevant bulls at Wattletop Angus at Guyra on Thursday, May 21.
The sale had a full clearance, with all 48 bulls selling for a top of $24,000 twice and average of $11,541 for a gross of $554,000.
There was plenty of support from repeat buyers, who took home the top bulls and bigger drafts of bulls.
Among the sought-after bulls were sons of the $190,000 bull Knowla So Right S48, with eight bulls averaging $16,500.
US sire Connealy Craftsman, who sold for $US500,000 in 2022 had 10 bulls in the sale averaging $12,400, and Knowla Revolution R190 was represented with six bulls that averaged $10,000.
Reaching the top price first was Wattletop So Right V77, a son of So Right and Wattletop Phyllis R3, who was purchased by long-time Wattletop client Tim Hough, who runs a 500-breeder herd with his daughter Teena Hough at Dalkeith, Bundarra.
"We bought a So Right bull last year and I absolutely loved him," Ms Hough said.
"We like the temperament, and they're really good-bodied bulls, with good muscle and good figures across the board, with very high marbling and high for carcase weight."
The 22-month-old weighed 750 kilograms and had a balanced set of data with moderate birth (estimated breeding value of +3.4), good growth with EBVs of +58, +104 and +141 for 200-, 400- and 600-day growth, and +88 for carcase weight. He was the highest scanning bull for intramuscular fat in the catalogue, with 6.9 per cent and an EBV of +5.5, and he was in the top 4pc of the Angus breed for IMF
Wayne and Erica Dunn, The Falls, Glen Elgin, took home the second sale topper, Wattletop V68.
He was a 22-month-old bull by Craftsman from Wattletop Primrose P520SV who weighed 778kg and had EBVs of +59, +99 and +126 for 200-, 400- and 600-day weight.
The Dunns run 500 Angus breeders, selling at weaner sales in Glen Innes.
"We liked his temperament, his figures for early growth, and he's a good all-rounder type of bull," Mr Dunn said.
"We've been buying Wattletop bulls for the past four or five years and they're working for us."
Another Knowla So Right son, Wattletop So Right V30, out of Musgrave 316 Exclusive daughter Wattletop Dandloo S5, made $22,000, and two bulls, Wattletop So Right V22 and Wattletop Craftsman V29, were purchased for $20,000.
The sale's volume buyer was Queensland producer Ken Donohoe, Ringwood, Wandoan, who purchased eight bulls topping at $14,000 and averaging $10,750.
He'll use the bulls in his herd of 1500 breeders over three properties at Wandoan and one at Moonie.
"My dad bought Wattletop bulls when Lock (stud principal Jess MacDougall's father) had the stud, and we returned a few years ago when Jess started selling bulls again," Mr Donohoe said.
"We love the temperament of these bulls - we use bulls from other studs as well, and can see it in the quiet Wattletop calves."
The Dunns took home six bulls for an average of $14,333 and the Hough family bought four bulls averaging $15,000.
Queensland buyers were strong, taking home 17 of the bulls on offer.
Mrs MacDougall said she was blown away by the support, especially given the extra 20 bulls that were offered this year.
"On top of that is how dry our season is up here, and considering how tough the season is for a lot of our clients in this area, it's a big deal for them to dig deep, and buy some of our top bulls," Mrs MacDougall said.
"The Laurie family from Knowla Angus were the losing bidders on a couple of those So Right bulls too, so it was really special for us to have them come to our sale and bid."
The sale was conducted by APL Guyra Armidale with auctioneer Paul Dooley at the rostrum.
