Post-sale activity strong after clearance struggles at Bowmont bull sale
A prominent Angus seedstock business and a commercial farming operation have purchased the two equal-top-priced bulls at the Bowmont Angus bull sale.
The Tatyoon stud sold 45 of 61 Angus bulls on offer on Thursday, recording a top price of $18,000 twice to average $9511.
Bowmont stud principals Sam and Jane King said while the clearance rate was disappointing, post-sale activity was strong.
"We've been building our sale numbers year on year for the last seven years," Mr King said.
"We're focused on breeding easy-doing, moderate maturity animals with good carcase traits."
The first top-priced bull, Lot 15, Bowmont Patriarch W057, was purchased by Daniel and Anne Marie Barrow, Merlewood Angus, Mirboo North, for $18,000.
Lot 15 was a July 2025-drop bull sired by Tehama Patriarch F028 and out of Bowmont Elsa R091.
Mrs Barrow said he was purchased because of his "elite pedigree family tree" and would be used as a mop-up bull for the stud's W heifers, following their artificial insemination program.
"We were looking for a calving-ease bull coupled with sensible birth weight," she said.
The second $18,000 bull, Lot 40, Bowmont Shane W144, was bought by David and Indrani Wells, Wells Ag, Elaine.
The August 2025-drop bull was sired by Milwillah Shane S23 and out of Bowmont Lubra T141.
The bull was in the top 5 per cent of the breed for 200, 400 and 600-day weight, top 9pc for scrotal and top 25pc for docility.
Mr Wells said it was the fifth year his family had bought bulls from the King family.
"Since June, we have sold about 120 weaners through the Ballarat market and they have averaged just over $2000 a head," he said.
"We've shifted away from breeding fat cattle to weaners because we found it to be more profitable.
"We breed all our own heifers and we find these bulls to be really well-bred and suited to our operation because of phenotype, growth, docility and easy-birthing genetics."
The sale had five Victorian-based clients who each bought four bulls, including Nareen Station, Nareen, Chatsworth House, Chatsworth, Mahkwallok East, Stockyard Hill, Eurambeen East, Beaufort, and Maranoa, Tallangatta.
Nareen Station manager Peter Fort said the four bulls would be joined to the operation's Angus breeding operation, which comprised 2200 cows.
"We are big on the phenotype and join these bulls over our heifers, so calving ease is really important in our operation," Mr Fort said.
"These bulls will head to Robe, SA, where we send all our young cattle and then our pregnancy-test-in-calf heifers are backloaded to our properties in western Victoria to calve down."
Elders stud stock manager for Victoria and the Riverina Ross Milne said the bulls were bought mainly by commercial clients across western Victoria and Gippsland.
"It was a good, solid sale and while we had a few bulls passed in, six bulls were sold immediately after the sale and since then, a majority of the remaining bulls have also been sold," Mr Milne said.
