EVOLVING demand for Bonnydale Black Simmental genetics led to a record-breaking result at the Introvigne family's 21st annual on-property bull sale at Bridgetown on Monday.
The $8254 average, achieved from the total clearance of 66 Black Simmental and SimAngus bulls, set a new WA Simmental sale record average and is the second highest Simmental sale average in Australia.
It further cements Bonnydale Black Simmentals as one of the top Simmental seedstock operations in Australia.
The Bonnydale team's strong regular following from WA and the Eastern States joined a number of new faces to fill a 57-strong buyer register.
And with the sale interfaced on AuctionsPlus for the first time this year, a further 18 buyers registered online at some point during the sale.
Resolute bidding, generating from widespread interest, saw results up across the board with the sale grossing more than half a million dollars.
Forty two Black Simmental bulls averaged $8542 while 24 SimAngus bulls, ranging from half Black Simmental influence to 7/8, averaged $7750.
The outstanding results leapt ahead of last year's strong sale where overall 50 of 52 bulls sold to gross $326,050 and average $6521 a significant $1733 swing north in overall average.
But there still remained a number of bulls that sold in the $5000 to $6500 price range to satisfy all budgets.
The catalogue of polled yearling Black Simmental and SimAngus bulls was outstanding with the evenness extending each year, highlighted by the $12,500 equal top-priced bulls selling in lots six and 41 while a number of bulls sold from $9000 to $10,000 deep into the catalogue.
It was testament to Bonnydale's business model Integrity, Innovation, Investment with the bulls bred on world-class genetics through partnerships in the USA, registered and Breedplan performance recorded in Australia in addition to the enormous US Simmental database and the International Genetic Solutions evaluation program while backed up by the Introvigne's comprehensive after sale service.
Bonnydale co-principal Mike Introvigne thanked buyers and underbidders for their continued support.
"It's very humbling to achieve such a sale result and great to see our breeding program so widely accepted throughout the country," Mr Introvigne said.
"Beef is our business and passion and client success drives us to deliver the best product we can.
"We aim to deliver world-class genetics and lift the profitability of your herds especially with today's prices, the more kilograms you get into your calves, the more money you will make."
The sale's $12,500 equal top bid was first placed on lot six by Lesley McDonald, RJ & LG McDonald, Karridale, for the classy Black Simmental Bonnydale Kruiser M106.
M106 was an early February 2016 born son of homebred parents Bonnydale Kruiser and Guava J143 weighing 40kg at birth.
The 652kg bull displayed raw data of 115cm2 EMA, 9mm for P8 and rib fats and 6.1 IMF with EBVs ranking it in Australia's top five per cent for eye muscle area (EMA) and top 10pc for 400 and 600-day weight, carcase weight (CW) and domestic maternal (DMI) and northern terminal indexes (NTI).
The McDonalds return to Bonnydale every couple of years to buy bulls and this was the fourth time they had purchased black bulls at the sale.
The bulls are joined to the family's first cross Angus and Murray Grey-Friesian breeding herd.
Suitable heifers from the F1 joining are retained in the breeding herd with heifers joined to SimAngus bulls for their maiden calving.
The operation targets the vealer market with their sale calves.
It wasn't until lot 41 before the other top bid was taken when Noel and Bev Holdsworth, ND & BJ Holdsworth, Bridgetown, paid $12,500 for Bonnydale Kruiser M9, another son of Kruiser and out of Bonnydale Jossie J108 born January 10, 2016, at 38kg.
The powerful 662kg Black Simmental bull had plenty of admirers with raw data of 40cm scrotal, 110cm2 EMA, 9mm P8 and 8mm rib fats and 5.7 IMF with top 5pc EBV rankings for NTI and vealer terminal index (VTI) and top 10pc for 200-day weight, EMA, DMI and export maternal index (EMI).
Mr Holdsworth runs 110 predominantly Murray Grey breeders and has been buying bulls at Bonnydale for the past 10 years.
He targets the vealer market direct to abattoir with his calves and has found the Black Simmental matches the traditional rivals with growth and weight, but are a bit lighter in birthweights for ease of calving.
AuctionsPlus bidding yielded four sales including the $11,250 second top price.
The price was paid for Bonnydale Jim Beam M57, a mid-January 2016 born son of Bonnydale parents Jim Beam and Lil Dess F213 at 34kg BW.
The 662kg low birthweight Black Simmental bull scanned 108cm2 EMA, 8mm rib and P8 fats and 5.2 IMF and displayed a strong set of EBVs including top 1pc for VTI, top 5pc for both calving ease traits and top 10pc for birthweight, gestation length (GL), CW and EMI.
Other buyers to pay $10,000 for their selections included the sale's volume buyer Graham Lloyd, Springsure, Queensland.
As a beef producer and Elders central Queensland agent, Mr Lloyd purchased a total of nine bulls for himself and Queensland clients.
His own account, Nell Partnership, consisted of five bulls including two Black Simmental bulls for $9500 and $9000 and three SimAngus of varying influence to $8000.
Mr Lloyd purchased two bulls for Jane Geddes, Dingo, paying to $10,000 for another son of Kruiser weighing 604kg, $10,000 again for a 666kg high indexing son of Bonnydale Black Hawk H274 for Owen Berry, Anakie and $7500 for a son of AI sire Sand Ranch Hand suitable for heifer joining for MB Ag, Springsure.
H Wolfe & Co, Bornholm, collected three bulls at the sale and paid to $10,250 for a 668kg AI son of TNT Tanker that ranked in the top 5pc for 200 and 400-day weight and DMI, NTI and VTI.
Rodney Wilson, Yornup Holdings and Wilsons Transport, Yornup, paid the sale's $9750 top SimAngus bull price in a team of four bulls.
The 720kg three quarter Black Simmental bull was a low birthweight bull by Bonnydale Tanker H200 that ranked in the top 1pc for GL, top 5pc for both calving ease traits, birthweight, EMA, DMI and EMI.
It was the Wilson family's third year at Bonnydale buying black bulls to cover their 300 Angus breeders. A line of 40 SimAngus heifers have been retained for breeding.
The Wilsons also aim for the vealer market with their calves and were excited to finish in the top 100 WA producers for MSA grading in 2015/16, not far behind fellow Yornup graziers the Young family who were the national winners.
Other multiple bull accounts included return buyers Glenomera, Mandurah, with two three quarter SimAngus bulls and a Black Simmental bull paying to $9500, Cattle Chosen Grazing, Busselton, which also paid to $9500 for three Black Simmental bulls, Jarnadup Investments, Manjimup, with three Black Simmental bulls to $9250 and the Yates Family Trust, Collie, with three Black Simmental bulls paying from $6750 to $7250.
Gypsy Hill collected two 7/8 SimAngus bulls for $9250 each and Tellarup Brook, Manjimup, paid $9750 and $9250 also for two Black Simmental bulls.