THE Bannitup Angus stud, Esperance, has added to its sire battery with the purchase of two stud sires during the year.
The Esperance-based stud secured a sire at the Rennylea autumn sale at Bowna, New South Wales, earlier in the year and followed it up with another purchase at the stud’s spring sale in August.
Stud principal Andrew Johnson said the two bulls would join the stud’s sire battery which were all Rennylea and used as back-up bulls for its AI programs.
“We have been on the Rennylea bloodlines for a long time and are really happy with what they are breeding,” Mr Johnson said.
“The Rennylea stud has the most extensive figures of any Angus herd in Australia and more importantly its breeding philosophy is similar to ours.”
In the Rennylea autumn sale the Johnsons paid $11,000 for Rennylea M1212.
Mr Johnson said M1212 was an extremely powerful bull with very good figures.
“He is in the top one per cent for all the selection indexes and also 200, 400 and 600-day weights, carcase weight and eye muscle area and top 20pc for IMF,” Mr Johnson said.
M1212 is by EF Complement, which is currently the number one ranked sire for registrations in Australia.
The stud has already used M1212 in its breeding program in an autumn mating and the Johnsons are looking forward to seeing its progeny hit the ground in April.
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At the Rennylea spring sale the stud purchased Rennylea N184, which is by HPCA Intensity 7102, for $13,000.
Mr Johnson said N184 was also a very well-figured bull and a good heifer bull being positive calving ease.
N184 is in the top 1pc for all indexes, EMA, IMF and milk, top 4pc for carcase weight, top 6pc for 400-day weight and days to calving and top 8pc for gestation.
“We can use him over our heifers with no downside,” Mr Johnson said.
Rennylea has retained semen from N184 and is using the bull in its current mating program.