AFTER taking over the running of the Coonamble Angus stud in their own right last year, Craig and Nat Davis couldn’t have asked for a better sale than the one delivered at their Bremer Bay property last Tuesday.
Not only was there a record top price of $29,000 posted for the stud, more pleasing for the Davis family was the fact that there was a 100 per cent clearance of the 80 bulls offered for sale.
The average of $10,106 was down $70 on last year and this was somewhat pleasing for the stud also, which was looking to ensure that all clients and all budgets were able to operate on bulls throughout the sale.
Last year, in a move to keep a lid on averages the Davis’ offered up 16 more bulls than the previous year and this year there were two more than the 78 offered in 2017.
Younger bulls were also included in the catalogue last year and that was the case this year, with July, August and September 2016 drops finding good buying support in the middle of the catalogue.
With a national reputation for breeding quality Angus sires and females, the stud continues to build on the solid foundation put in place by Craig’s parents Murray and Sheryle over more than 50 years of breeding.
They presented an excellent line-up of bulls that were not over-prepared, sticking to the stud’s mantra of not grain feeding bulls for the sale.
As always a large crowd of loyal Coonamble clients, plus a few new buyers, turned up to compete on the offering with the Landmark team in control of proceedings and auctioneer Tiny Holly at the helm.
Regular buyers of Coonamble genetics, George, Andrew and Rohan Toovey, Boyacup Angus stud, Cranbrook, were the successful bidders on the $29,000 sale topper.
Strolling in as lot one of the sale, there was no doubt from the look of Coonamble Hunter M28 that the bull was going to be one of the top prices.
A son of Coonamble Hunter H274, the bull was a growthy sire that weighed in at 754 kilograms.
Rohan Toovey said the bull was outstanding.
“He is a neat bull that is very deep and will go well over heifers that we have retained with Coonamble Elevator bloodlines,” he said.
“We know the Coonamble bloodlines well now and the pedigree is certainly there with this bull.
“This is probably the best line-up of bulls I have seen at Coonamble and you could buy with confidence throughout the catalogue.”
The Tooveys certainly did that, taking another bull at lot 38 in the catalogue for $12,500.
Their top-priced bull was a March 22, 2016-drop bull that was noted for its good growth figures with a +48 200-day weight that put it in the top 25 per cent of the breed, a +87 400-day weight, which was in the top 25pc, while its 600-day weight of +121 was in the top 15pc.
Its mature cow weight figure of +107 was in the top 20pc of the breed.
The Tooveys’ $12,500 purchase was a son of Coonamble Junior J266 and was a July 15-drop bull.
Its growth figures were also outstanding with a 400-day weight of +99 and a 600-day weight of +136 that were in the top 5pc of the breed respectively.
The second top price of $18,000 was set on two occasions with the first being paid by S Camarri & Co, Nannup.
The bull, Coonamble Outlier M14, was in lot four and weighed in at 728kg.
A Matauri Outlier F031 son and out of Coonamble H1, the bull was very good in the EBVs, particularly its growth figures.
Its 200 and 600-day weights of +54 and +133 put it in the top 5pc of the breed, as did its 400-day weight of +104.
Its rib and rump fat EBVs of +1.9 and +2.5 were also in the top of 5pc of the breed.
The bull will join a Coonamble bull bought by the Camarris at last year’s sale for $19,000.
The other buyer to fork out $18,000 for a bull was Jarrod Carroll, Rayview Park, Kalgan.
Another regular buyer of Coonamble bulls, Mr Carroll was looking for an outcross sire and found it in lot 18, which was another Outlier son and being out of H1, was a full brother to the bull the Camarris bought.
The bull, Coonamble Outlier M16, weighed in at 812kg making it the heaviest bull offered in the sale.
It was this high growth that Mr Carroll was chasing in his purchase.
“I like good, growthy bulls and I also like lots of milk on both the bull and female side and this bloke had that,” he said.
“The fact that he is a totally new Coonamble line for us to use within the herd is another big plus.”
The bull was +17 for milk, but it was its growth figures that were even more impressive, smashing the breed averages.
It was +59 for 200-day weight, +111 for 400-day weight and +150 for 600-day weight, figures which well and truly placed it in the top 1pc of the breed.
The bull will join a sire battery that will be used over 950 Angus breeders run by the Carroll family.
Such was the demand for Coonamble bulls from commercial breeders that not many studs were able to match the bidding power of commercial operators.
One that did was Paul Torrisi, Black Market Angus stud, Donnybrook.
While not in attendance at the sale, due to having his own bull sale the following day, Mr Torrisi bid over the phone to secure lot 29 for $16,000.
This Coonamble Junior J266 son, Coonamble Junior M272, was a younger bull, dropped on August 26, 2016 and it carried some impressive growth rates with a 200-day weight in the top 15pc of the breed at +51, a 400-day weight in the top 5pc at +98 and a 600-day weight of +134 that was also in the top 5pc of the breed.
It had one of the higher milk figures in the catalogue at +23 (top 5pc of breed) and its IMF of +3.1 also put it in the top 10pc.
Four bulls hit the $15,000 mark and again regular buyers were willing to outlay good money to get the bulls they were after.
After taking a half share in the $26,000 top price bull at last year’s sale, the Bairstow family, Arizona Farms, Lake Grace, were back at the sale, this year taking three bulls and paying $15,000 twice.
Their first $15,000 bull was in lot five and was a Hector son that was born on March 1, 2016.
Showing thickness and depth, this bull was also carrying some excellent growth figures of +49 for 200-day weight, +88 for 400-day and +122 for 600-day.
This put the 762kg bull in the top 20pc for 200 and 400-day weights and the top 15pc for 600-day.
Arizona’s next $15,000 bull was in lot 16 and was an April 6, 2016-drop Coonamble J311 son, out of Coonamble K3.
The 728kg bull was +55 for 200-day weight, +100 for 400-day and +137 for 600-day, placing it in the top 5pc for 200 and 400-day weight and top 5pc for 600-day weight.
Arizona’s last purchase was $9000 for an August 17, 2016-drop son of Coonamble Hector 249.
Also paying $15,000 were JP & J Davies, Albany.
They went to this mark for a March 25, 2016 drop son of Matauri Outlier F031 and out of Coonamble H120.
The bull weighed in at 770kg and recorded +56 for 200-day weight, +105 for 400-day and +138 for 600-day.
Its 200 and 600-day weights put it in the top 5pc of the breed, while its 400-day landed in the top 1pc.
The last buyer to pay to $15,000 was another long-term Coonamble supporter, Gatti Bros, Redmond.
The Gatti family paid the previous best price at the Coonamble auction in 2016 of $26,500, a record that was broken by the Toovey family’s $29,000 purchase this year.
The Gattis’ bull was another younger bull, dropped on July 18, 2016 and was another Junior son out of Coonamble H8.
Its growth figures of +52 for 200-day weight, +97 for 400-day weight and +134 for 600-day weight were in the top 10pc and 5pc of the breed.
There was a clutch of bulls that made the $14,000 to $14,500 mark and the Gatti family was also prominent in this price bracket taking a Hector son for $14,000 to round out their purchase.
One of the bigger volume buyers, Phil and Cathy Wishart, Borden, were successful at $14,500 when they were the winning bidders on lot 26, Coonamble Junior M36.
This appeared to be a good value buy when it was announced that the Davis family thought highly enough of this bull to retain 200 straws of semen from it.
The July 10, 2016-drop bull weighed in at 728kg and recorded a birthweight of +3.8, a 200-day weight of +51, a 400-day weight of +97 and a 600-day weight of +130.
Its 400 and 600-day figures put it in the top 5pc of the breed.
The bull also performed well on the indexes with a +125 Angus Breeding Index and +136 Heavy Grain Index.
With good knowledge of the Coonamble breeding, the Wisharts bid with confidence taking four bulls in total, paying $12,000 twice and $7500 for their fourth bull.
Another to buy at $14,500 was the BJ Panizza Family Trust, Albany, which took a Coonamble Hogan H309 son, Coonamble Hogan M185, while Benalong Grazing, Gingin, was also successful on one bull at $14,500 paid for a Coonamble J297 son.
Others to pay higher values for bulls included AD, RA & JA Mathews, Pemberton, who went to a top of $14,000 for one bull and bought another at $13,000, while new buyer to the stud, Clive Atwell & Co, Mundijong, bought three to a $13,000 top.
A handful of buyers were after multiple bulls and bought four or more and this included Roydon Nominees, Peppermint Grove, which took home four bulls at $9500, $9000, $8500 and $7500, while Lester Pastoral Co, Manypeaks, also took home four to a top of $13,500.
Ripmax Investments, Ravensthorpe, also bought four bulls paying $10,000, $8000 twice and $6000 to fill its requirements.
The biggest buyers of the day were Glen and Sheree Leenhouwers, Quahlea Cattle Co, Gibson, who took seven bulls.
Strategic buying saw the couple pick their way through the catalogue and get bulls at good values taking all seven at $6571 average.
Mr Leenhouwers said they had cleaned out their sire stocks recently and were looking for more this year to replace those older bulls with some young ones.
Landmark auctioneer Tiny Holly said it was a quality line-up that allowed buyers to buy with confidence.
“There was something for everyone in the catalogue,” he said.
“There were several higher prices, but there were also a lot of bulls that went between $6500 and $9000, which represents good buying.
“The bulls were presented in ideal condition and were fully backed by the Davis family.
“It also should be pointed out that there was some Eastern States inquiry on the sale but this was quickly knocked over by local commercial producers, which is a great sign that locals are fully appreciating the quality of the Coonamble bulls.”
