South Australian buyers snap up top-priced bull at Ben Nevis anuual sale
Buyers from four states filled the stands at the Ben Nevis Angus annual bull sale at Walcha on Wednesday, September 9.
Of the 93 sires offered, 87 were sold by the fall of the final hammer for an average of $12, 920 and a top price of $42,000 for a yearling bull.
The top of the 18-month-old bulls was $30,000. All passed in lots were later sold.
Bulls were sold to buyers across Tasmania, South Australia, NSW and Queensland.
The top lot of the day, yearling bull Ben Nevis Wrecking Ball W330, was secured by first-time buyers Yerwal Estate, Lucindale, South Australia.
Sired by Pathfinder Underdog U752 and out of Ben Nevis Geranium, the July 2025-drop, 585-kilogram bull had a scrotal circumference of 41 centimetres.
Described as having "exceptional phenotype" and "extreme presence", the bull ranked within the top 10pc for six estimated breeding values (EBVs).
He ranked in the top 2pc for foot and claw, 6pc for eye muscle area (EMA) with +12.7and top 8pc for scrotal circumference.
Connie and Regan Burow, Yerwal Estate, said they had followed the Halliday's breeding program for some time
In need of a new sire, they decided to make the long trek to their first Ben Nevis auction.
Mrs Burow said their clients were always front of mind when they purchased a sire.
"There were a few options for us to look at, so we decided to make the trip up but this bull was our first pick for options for us to probably make the trip up there and he (Ben Nevis Wrecking Ball W330) was probably our first pick to have a look on phenotype," Mrs Burow said.
"After looking the countryside over, he's probably one of the few bulls that we've actually come across that does actually put together all the data we require in spades, plus a really good phenotype to match."
"We're very phenotype orientated, but we do like to have the data behind the bull for our clients, as we know that is quite a prominent asset for our commercial clientele in selecting balls," Mr Burow said.
The couple run an Angus and SImmental stud where they sell 80 to 100 Angus bulls a year, and 80 Simmental bulls.
Those bulls run alongside 250 registered Angus females, and 150 white Simmental females.
The second-highest price of $34,000 went to Ben Nevis Waratah W712, bought by Colly Creek Pastoral Co, Willow Tree.
Used in the Ben Nevis herd, the bull tipped the scales at 792kg and ranked in the top 3pc for 200-day growth with +68 while the 400-day growth at +115 was in the top 7pc of the breed.
Colly Creek Pastoral Co also secured another two bulls, for $14,000 and $8000, to average $18,666.
The third top lot of the day was $30,000 for 18-month-old Ben Nevis Wickham W070, with the 776kg bull secured by Appleton Cattle Co, Alpha, Queensland.
Sired by LVVF Tanker 14 and out of Ben Nevis Dormist N174, the bull had a scrotal circumference of 45cm and ranked in the 3pc for gestational length (GL) of -9.6.
They also took home Ben Nevis War Hammer W418 for $24,000.
While the top priced bull went to SA, another South Australian was also active.
One of the main volume buyers of the day, was Neales River Livestock, Oodnadatta.
Ben Nevis bull sale 2024
Pictures by Lara Webster
Return clients for a decade, Andrew Clarke secured 10 bulls to a top of $14,000 twice, and averaged $9800.
The family run an black baldy herd across the western catchment of Lake Eyre with 2000 cows, to supply export and domestic feedlot programs.
Mr Clarke said a good season at home was the right time to secure more bulls.
"On the back of a very good season we're doing our best to keep our bull quality up," he said.
"We've bought bulls that will bring more carcase into the herd, those were thicker bulls we purchased.
"We also targeted bulls that would be good cow breeding bulls, which will go into a separate program."
Other notable volume buyers included Paspaley Pastoral, Scone, which secured nine bulls through Nutrien Boultons to a top of $18,000 twice and average of $10,666.
DJR Livestock, Adelong, secured four bulls to a top price of $12,000 and averaged $7500.
Local Walcha buyers also bought bulls, bidding strongly against their interstate competition.
Ben Nevis co-principal Erica Halliday said she was pleased with the result.
She was also buoyed by the support of local buyers despite low cow numbers.
We haven't ever had such a good line up of bulls but things in the New England haven't been great so we were really grateful for the support, particularly from our local people who we know have sold most of their cows," Ms Halliday said.
"Our return buyers bought really well today too.
"Most people have come back and said we have a lot of muscle in the bulls, their bigger, heavier weight-for-age, and easier doing and that's a direction we're taking and we're pretty proud of them and our team."
The sale was hosted by Nutrien Boultons at Walcha, with Paul Dooley auctioneering and both StockLive and AuctionsPlus delivering substantial online input to the selling ring.
