Top-priced Charolais bulls heading into central Queensland stud duties
The top and second-highest-priced Charolais bulls at the fourth annual Ray White Barcaldine Bull Sale are heading to stud duties in central Queensland, but it was commercial buyers who helped drive the sale, held on Friday September 25 at the Barcaldine saleyard.
The sale recorded an 86 per cent clearance rate, down from 92pc last year, with 80 of the 93 bulls offered selling under the hammer.
With 42 fewer bulls offered than last year, Ray White Rural Barcaldine principal Bill Seeney said the reduced catalogue was the right number for the market.
Charolais vendors sold 36 head to gross $308,000, averaging $8555, while Simmental vendors sold 21 head to gross $214,000, averaging $10,190, with top prices of $22,000 and $16,000 respectively.
Black Simmental, red Simmental, Simbrah and red Simbrah bulls averaged between $6285.71 and $11,000 per head.
The top-priced bull was TEX W558E, a Charolais bull offered by Belbourie Park, selling for $22,000 to James and Aleisha Pisaturo of Veejay Downs Charolais from Inga Downs, Dingo.
Belbourie Park also sold the equal top price bull at last year's sale for $23,000. This year they sold 25 bulls to average $8000.
The 20-month-old polled bull was sired by Rangan Tex T6 and out of Paringa Legend N366.
He tipped the scales at 744 kilograms, 133 square centimetres in the eye muscle area, had a scrotal circumference of 40 centimetres and 4.7 per cent intramuscular fat.
Vendors Sam O'Donnell and Lynton Harrison from Murrindindi in Victoria grow the bulls out at a property in Thangool. Buyers, the Pisaturo family, viewed him before the sale.
"He's one of the better bulls that we've bred out of one of our top cows, he just always stood out - his thickness and weight for age right through to the sale, he's easy doing," Mr Harrison said.
"We've used that cow as a donor and taken a few embryos out of her, just one of those cows that breeds well and is a fantastic milker, just a cow that always does a good job."
The bull was born via natural joining with the sire put over the dam in the autumn as she was a donor cow and her cycles were out of sync with spring calving.
"We have a full brother coming through from the same sire who is double polled. He's another standout, the cow just keeps breeding," Ms O'Donnell said.
Mr Harrison and Ms O'Donnell said their buyer reported the bull would work well within his herd because the bull was a complete outcross.
The second-highest-priced bull was lot 91 who shared a sire with the top bull. He was sold to Alan Goodland of Clare Charolais of Theodore for $19,000.
Volume buyer on the day was Kirkston Cattle Co of Kirkston Station, located near Ravenswood via Charters Towers, with nine bulls bought to average $6200.
Ray White's Bill Seeney said while Simmental bulls sold well, the Charolais had a "tough day in the office" despite meeting all the specifications of the buyers.
"There were unfortunately just a few too many for the requirements."
He said the sale was strongly supported by commercial beef producers wanting to put good crossbred bulls back into herds of cattle.
"A huge percentage of the buyers were repeat buyers... I think 70pc would have been repeat buyers with the majority of people getting three or four bulls," he said.
Vendor averages
- J & S Charolais - $11,660.00
- Bonnydale Qld Black - $9330.00
- Springside Simmentals - $6000.00
- Allednaw Chaolais - $79000
- Summa Simmentals - $8000.00
- 3HG Simbrahs & Simmentals - $11,000.00
- Tullayr Simmentals - $10,800.00
- Savannah Simmentals & Simbrahs - $7300.00
- Woodlands Simmentals - $12,500.00
- Selling agent: Ray White Rural Barcaldine, interfaced with StockLive
