SILVERSTONE Charolais held its inaugural on-property bull sale at Narrikup last week, setting a strong impression from which to go forward with a quality line-up of white and caramel coated Charolais bulls to kick things off.
There was a good contingent of local buyers familiar with the Silverstone breeding program who came along to support the first sale which fetched a top price of $8250.
All up there were 16 bulls offered on the day, including eight yearling bulls, with 11 selling under the hammer to achieve a gross of $49,500 and an average of $4500.
Nutrien Livestock auctioneer James Culleton said it was a very good effort for an inaugural sale.
"In their debut on-property sale, Silverstone Charolais had a very good result today," Mr Culleton said.
"The quality and presentation of the line-up was a credit to the vendors and I'm sure they'll be moving on to bigger and better things in the future as the sale grows."
At the top end of the buying, buyers weren't waiting long before they kicked into gear.
Lot one was a Silverstone sire with a lot of scale and presence, meaning buyers were perking up the moment he walked into the ring, resulting in an opening bid of $6000 and a top-price winning bid of $8250.
The top-priced April 2017-drop calf was a son of Bolong Jammison PJDJ10E and out of a Caithness Alice female, weighing in at 1195kg.
With length, depth and growth easy to see, the top-priced bull had figures to match including raw data of 12 P8 rump, 8 rib, 5.2 per cent IMF and 135cm2 EMA.
It's selection index values were well above average, with a Domestic Index figure of +$49 and an Export Index of +$69.
Top-price buyer Barry Panizza, BJ Panizza Family Trust, Albany, said being able to buy a bull which had been used within the stud was an opportunity he didn't want to miss.
"I thought it was money well spent for a bull the stud thought so highly of to retain semen rights," Mr Panizza said.
"I was very, very happy to be able to buy all of that quality."
Mr Panizza said he took some good advice on singling out his purchase for the day, adding that the figures on lot one stood out in comparison to all of the other bulls available.
Lot one will go into the paddock with some Angus cows at Mr Panizza's Albany-based beef operation.
Most buyers took home single bulls to suit their needs, making Elders Albany representative David Lindberg the volume buyer when he purchased two bulls, though they were headed to different homes.
"I thought it was really good value for money here today," Mr Lindberg said.
"The bulls I was able to buy suit the requirements of the clients I was bidding on behalf of, who were chasing length, depth, shape and growth."
Mr Lindberg secured the 939kg bull in lot four at $5000 for a Napier-based client, who was looking for a quality Charolais to put over a Poll Hereford cow herd, while lot nine cost $4000 and went to a new home at Woogenellup for a returning buyer who liked the growth and carcase traits of the Silverstone bulls, as well as the quiet temperament.
The second top-priced bull cost Samwell Grazing, Albany, $5250 when the final hammer fell on the 870kg sire in lot seven.
Born in March 2018, the second top-priced bull was by Kooyong Lockett H2EL3E and out of a Silverstone Twix female.
It had raw data scores of 8 P8 rump, 8 rib, 4.9 IMF and 115cm2 EMA, as well as above breed average selection index values of +$40 for Domestic Index and +$51 for Export Index.
Others to buy Silverstone bulls under the hammer last week included GJ & LV Hicks, Albany, who paid $5000 for the bull in lot two; MI & DM Twentyman, Albany, paying $4000 for their selection, G & TJ Ross & Co, Denmark, paying $4000 and DM & JA Carpenter, Rocky Gully, paying $4000.
Silverstone stud principal John Imberti said it was a great result for the stud's first on-property sale.
"We had a bit of prior interest and we appreciate the support of those who turned up on sale day to bid during the sale," Mr Imberti said.
"We were happy with how the bulls presented and in particular we were proud of lot one which was the top-priced bull."
Mr Imberti said in the future there was potential for the stud to grow the numbers offered in the annual on-property bull sale, offering locally-bred Charolais genetics to producers in the South Coast area.
