A QUALITY line-up of Angus bulls, backed by excellent figures and based on some of the breed's best bloodlines at last week's combined Cherylton and Black Market Angus bull sale at Boyanup, attracted strong buying support, pushing prices to $14,500 for a Cherylton sire.
With both studs having a reputation for investing strongly in their breeding programs and sourcing top class genetics the sale once again drew a big crowd, including 59 registered buyers which came from as far away, as Esperance in the east and Walkaway in the north plus the Eastern States, who were prepared to bid up on the bulls they ticked against.
All the way through the sale the buyers showed their intent to the Landmark selling team and were strong in their bidding ensuring a positive result in terms of both prices and clearance.
When auctioneer Neil Brindley, Brindley & Chatley Landmark Esperance, knocked down the final bull in the catalogue, combined the two studs had cleared 44 of 48 bulls offered under the hammer for an average of $6568, which was helped along by not only the top-priced bull making five figures but another four selling $10,000 during the auction.
In comparison to last year's sale, the average was up $780 while the number bulls offered was down 20 head and the number sold was back 15.
Mr Brindley said it was a very good sale throughout in terms of both prices and clearance.
"The strong final result was a reflection of the quality of the offering," Mr Brindley said.
"The sale was solid throughout and was a reflection of the evenness of the catalogue.
"The top end of the bulls received extra competition from buyers and as a result we saw prices go beyond $10,000 on five occasions."
Landmark Boyanup agent Chris Waddingham, who does work for both studs, said both vendors presented an excellent catalogue of bulls.
"The bulls were in fantastic condition, not overfed and ready to work, which buyers appreciated," Mr Waddingham said.
"It was great to also hear plenty of positive comments in regards to the structural correctness of bulls and the evenness in the quality of the two teams, and I think this was reflected in the buyers support of the sale.
"It was a very successful sale in terms of values and clearance and both vendors and buyers would have left the sale pleased with the day.
"I was particularly pleased for Cherylton owners Julian and Cheryl Walter and family and general manager Mike Cameron for a fantastic result in their final sale having sold the stud.
"The result is a reflection of the Walter family's commitment to establishing a high quality Angus stud herd by selecting and investing in top genetics throughout the years and Mike's influence in carrying out the breeding program."
Cherylton
This year marked the final bull sale for the Cherylton stud having sold its breeding herd to the Cowan family, Oldfield Angus stud, Bedford Harbour, last year and buyers made sure it went out with a sale to remember.
Not only did the stud achieve the day's $14,500 top price, but another two bulls in the team made more than $10,000.
When the numbers were crunched for the Cherylton team, it had cleared 19 from 20 bulls under the hammer for an average of $7474, which was up from $5568 when it sold 37 from 46 last year.
Commanding the day's top price was Cherylton Range Legend P169 when it entered the ring two-thirds of the way through the sale in lot 36.
As soon as the deep, well-muscled sire stepped into the ring the crowd took notice and Mr Brindley fielded a flurry of bidders before he knocked the impressive bull down to return buyers the Camarri family,
S Camarri & Co, Nannup, who bid with the assistance of Mr Waddingham.
Mr Waddingham said the family chose the bull as part of their ongoing desire to improve their Angus cattle herd and in particular the calves they breed which go through their own feedlot operation.
"They were particularly impressed by the growth and muscling of this bull and were really chasing its high early growth," Mr Waddingham said.
"It also had a moderate MCW which was a bonus as they are not aiming to breed massive cows.
"He is heavily muscled through the topline and back and he is the type of bull they wanted as they want to increase the muscle content in their Angus cattle.
"Hopefully is extra muscling will be reflected in the turn off of future lotfed yearlings from the operation.
"The Camarri family believes if you are going to feed cattle you might as well feed good ones which perform."
Range Legend P169 was dropped in July 2018 and is sired by Clune Range Legend L348 and out of a Hyline Right Time 338 daughter.
It had EBVs of +5.7 birthweight, +54, +92 and +121 for 200, 400 and 600-day weight, +116 mature cow weight (MCW), +12 milk, +68 carcase weight (CWT), +5.3 EMA, +1.1 rib fat, -0.8 rump fat, +0.2 retail beef yield (RBY) and +2.5 IMF.
The next best price in the Cherylton run was $13,000 when a LD Capitalist 316 son, Cherylton Capitalist P20, was knocked down to DR & DJ Roche Family Trust, Pemberton.
The thick, soft sire has EBVs of +5.1 birthweight, +53, +90 and +116 for 200, 400 and 600-day weight, +96 MCW, +19 milk, +70 CWT, +7.0 EMA, -1.1 rib fat, -1.9 rump fat, +1.3 RBY and +1.2 IMF.
The Pemberton operation also paid $5500 for Cherylton Resource P85, a SAV Resource 1441 son with growth EBVs of +55, +98 and +128 for 200, 400 and 600-day weight.
The third bull in the Cherylton line-up to make five figures was the last bull offered in the sale Cherylton P51, when it was hammer down at $11,000 to Baboo Pastoral, Green Range, which bid with the assistance of Elders Albany representative Nigel Hawke.
The ET-bred bull is a son of LD Capitalist 316 and Coonamble E9 and was described in the catalogue as ideally suited to joining to heifers.
It has a birthweight EBV of +3.0 which ranks it in the top 10pc of the breed for the trait.
Baboo Pastoral also picked up a second Cherylton bull paying $8500 for Cherylton P51's full brother Cherylton Capitalist P45, which ranks in the top 5pc for 400 and 600-day weights and CWT plus top 10pc for 200-day weight, MCW, feed efficiency and the heavy grassfed index.
Also bidding up in the Cherylton line-up was the herd's new owner Oldfield Angus which secured two bulls from the run.
It firstly secured a Sitz Investment 660Z son, Cherylton Investment P67, at $8500, which ranks in the top 5pc for 600-day weight and top 10pc for 400-day weight, CWT, rib fat and the heavy grassfed index.
Its second purchase was a Millah Murrah Loch Up L133 son, Cherylton Loch up P187, at $7500.
The only other multiple buyer in the Cherylton run was RN & BE Fletcher, Ravensthorpe which secured a Musgrave Apache son at $6000 and a Baldridge Command C036 son at $5500 bidding through Landmark southern livestock manager Bob Pumphrey.
Mr Cameron said he was very pleased with the final sale result given seasonal conditions.
"It was a great way to finish our chapter with the Cherylton herd, with the Oldfield Angus team now taking over," Mr Cameron said.
"We will continue to back the product and look forward to seeing what Chad Hall and the Oldfield Angus team do with the herd going forward.
"Over the years we have had support from a number of top people and they deserve thanks including Richard Hall for his guidance in the development of the herd to ensure it had a strong genetic base and our agent Chris Waddingham and the Landmark team for their continued support.
"I also need to say a massive thank you to our clients who have supported the stud over the past decade and also thanks must go to the Cherylton team for all the work they do in the background with the cattle on-farm."
Black Market
The Torrisi family opened the sale with their offering of 28 bulls from their Black Market stud and they found good support among buyers.
When the final Black Market bull left the ring, 25 had sold under the hammer to a top of $11,500 twice and for an average of $5880, which meant in comparison to last year's sale the stud sold an extra three bulls this year but the average was back $579.
The stud sold another two bulls post sale to further improve the clearance for the stud.
The first bull in the Black Market team to hit $11,500 was Black Market Investment P028 in lot five when it was knocked down to first-time buyers Dean and Deanne Scott, Silverlands Stud Farm, Bridgetown, who were bidding with the assistance of Landmark Boyup Brook agent Jamie Abbs.
The long, deep, ET-bred bull is by Sitz Investment 660Z and out of Coonamble E72 and it ranks in the top top 5pc for MCW (+137), CWT (+81) and scrotal (+3.0), top 10pc for 200, 400 and 600-day weights (+56, +103 and +138) and rib fat (+1.4).
Mr Scott said they were particularly looking for an ET-bred bull and this bull appealed for a number of reasons.
"He is a stylish bull with good eye appeal," Mr Scott said.
"He has thickness, depth and softness.
"We were also looking for an Angus bull showing good fat and he shows that and added to that we liked his Coonamble cross bloodlines on the dam side."
The Scott family run 600 Angus breeders and aim to turn off their May/June drop calves at 7-9-months-old.
A full brother to Investment P028 in lot six, Black Market Investment P030, made sure he was left in the wake of its brother when it also hit $11,500.
Bidding started at $8000 on the deep, thick sire and after a flurry of bids from around the ring it was return buyer Rohan Toovey, LT Toovey & Son, Cranbrook, who prevailed as the winning bidder at $11,500.
Investment P30 ranks in the top 5pc of the breed for 200-day weight (+59), rib fat (+2.8) and rump fat (+2.4), top 10pc for CWT (+79) and EMA (+8.7) plus top 15pc for 400 and 600-day weight (+99 and +129)
Mr Toovey said Black Market Investment P030 was a well-balanced all round bull.
"I saw him as a youngster and he caught my eye straight away and he has grown into the style of bull we quite often seek," Mr Toovey said.
The next best price in the run was $8500 which was achieved twice.
Pemberton operation G & B Bendotti bid to $8500 for Black Market P070, a Sitz Investment 660Z which ranks in the top 5pc for 200, 400 and 600-day weight.
Matching the $8500 bid of the Bendotti family was TC & KS Cox, when they secured Black Market Hallmark P139 through Mr Waddingham.
The June 2018-drop bull was sired by Ascot Hallmark H147 and it ranks in the top 1pc of the breed for 400 and 600-day weight, scrotal and CWT and top 5pc for 200-day weight.
There was a clear volume buyer in the Black Market run and this title went to long-term client Craig Power, KD Power Pastoral Co Pty Ltd, Busselton, who secured six bulls under the hammer, all at the $4000 base price.
Mr Power, who has been buying from the Black Market stud since its inception, said he liked buying at the stud because of the uniformity of the bulls offered by the stud and in the sale he was looking for barrelly bulls.
"I was chasing structurally correct bulls with thickness and softness, but also had to be suitable to use over heifers as all the bulls we purchased will be joined to heifers this joining," Mr Power said.
The operation runs a pure Angus herd comprising of 1200 cows and 400 heifers, which calve down in March/April.
Mr Power said they aim to sell their calves as feeders in December/January and keep a large percentage of the heifers for replacements.
Another multiple buyer in the Black Market run was Giant Valley Beef, Denmark, which picked up a Coonamble L23 son and a Coonamble Junior J266 son both at $4500.
Other better prices in the Black Market run was $8000 paid twice firstly by DR & DJ Roche Family Trust for Black Market Jaeger P025 which is by Coonamble Jaeger J98.
Also paying $8000 for a Black Market sire was Prenton Park Pastoral Co, which bid through Mr Waddingham, to secure Black Market Midland P116, which ranks in the top 5pc of the breed for gestation length, CWT and rump fat.