RAMPED up demand fuelled significantly improved results at the Little Meadows Angus stud's annual on-property bull sale at Dardanup last week.
The Golding family presented an excellent increased line-up of 63 well-bred and grown bulls packed with leading international and Australian genetics from the renowned Little Meadows female herd.
A big crowd turned out for the sale which culminated in a register of 54 buyers and a number of prospective buyers operating online from the South West, South Coast, Esperance and the Central Midlands.
Buyers enjoyed walking through the quiet-tempered bulls to make their selections which were free to roam in their large inspection pens.
Buoyed by favourable seasonal conditions across large parts of southern WA last year and an ongoing strong beef market, numerous buyers were prepared to raise their sights on their selections with values racing beyond five figures on several occasions.
This got the sale off to a strong start with solid values maintained until the backend of the catalogue when momentum slowed as orders began to fill and bidding could become more selective.
At the completion of selling, auctioneer Miles Pfitzner, Glasser Total Sales Management and the Delaney Livestock Services and Elders selling teams, had cleared 53 bulls at auction (84 per cent) for an average of $7217.
A number of overlooked bulls found new homes following the sale.
A sharp rise in the numbers of bulls sold at improved values resulted in the sale's gross returns up by $142,750 compared to last year's sale where 37 of 55 bulls (67pc) sold under the hammer for an average of $6480.
The sale was sequentially interfaced on AuctionsPlus with 1488 sale catalogue views yielding 29 registered bidders logged in from WA, New South Wales and Victoria along with an additional 46 guest viewers viewing the auction.
There were 38 online bids placed across nine lots resulting in four bulls purchased on the AuctionsPlus platform.
And it was an online buyer from Dandaragan who placed the sale's $16,500 top-priced bid for Little Meadows Queenslander Q79 that entered the sale ring in lot 16.
The early May 2019 born bull was AI-bred by USA sire Baldridge Beast Mode B074 and out of a Coonamble Elevator E11 daughter Little Meadows Edwina M11.
The powerful, well-grown bull displayed equally as impressive performance figures, ranking in the breed's top 1pc for 200 and 400-day weights (DW), top 2pc for 600-day and mature cow weight (MCW), top 6pc docility, top 10pc carcase weight (CW), top 15pc retail beef yield (RBY) and top 11-22pc for all indexes.
Long-time Little Meadows stud supporters and consistent top-priced buyers Dale and Peter Jansen, Fernwood Farm Angus stud, Gingin, were one bid shy of top dollar a couple of pens earlier, paying the sale's $16,000 second top price for a new stud sire Little Meadows Qualeu Q35 in lot 14.
The classy bull was a mid-April 2019-born son of AI sire Prime Nirvava N33 and a Prime Juggernaut J15 daughter Little Meadows Merriment N13 and recorded an even spread of EBVs.
It ranked from the top 10-12pc for all selection indexes, top 5pc RBY, top 12-18pc for all growth intervals, top 18pc CW, top 27pc eye muscle area (EMA) and top 24pc for feed efficiency (NFI-F).
Ms Jansen said they weren't intending to purchase a new sire this year, but the need for a late replacement in their sire battery as they approached the operation's mating period for their March-April calving, saw them go from spectators to buyers.
She said they followed Tony Golding's good advice when making their selections.
"Tony strongly recommended the bull and said he is everything we need in our herd," Ms Jansen said.
"He is perfect really and offers us some fresh genetics.
"We always go by the Golding family's recommendations, we love their cattle, they are lovely people and easy to deal with."
With such a prevailing influence of Little Meadows genetics in their stud herd, Fernwood Farm sells a selection of bull calves at weaning to Little Meadows to be grown out and potentially make the sale team with eight Fernwood Farms bred bulls in this year's catalogue.
A total of nine bulls sold for five figures with the next highest price of $13,000 paid by Willarty stud, Pinjarra, for Little Meadows Quadrant Q23 in lot 17.
The mid-April 2019-born bull was ET-bred by sire Te Mania Lakewood L119 and dam Coonamble F5 and recorded a strong set of above average EBVs including top 2-3pc for days to calving and scrotal, top 8pc docility, top 10-13pc fats, top 17pc MCW and milk and top 12-33pc for growth intervals.
Return buyers Farris Family Trust, Busselton, wielded a strong influence on the sale, outlaying a healthy $10,375 average for four bulls including sales at $12,500, $12,000 and $11,000 for AI-bred sons of Prime Nirvava N33, Baldridge Bronc and Lawsons Momentous M518 respectively.
Buyer Richard Farris and manager Justin Bell said they had been buying bulls at Little Meadows for six years and enjoyed the depth of selection available at the sale and the backup service provided by the stud.
"They are quiet cattle and they have the numbers here," they said.
"We were after both herd and heifer bulls, selecting for conformation, good balanced figures, docility and calving ease in the heifer bulls."
The operation runs a self-replacing herd of around 100 mainly Angus breeders that calve from February to April.
Calves are weaned in mid to late December with the surplus heifer calves sold as weaners, while the steers are grown out and sold in October to November with last year's yearling steers averaging 350kg dressed weight.
Esperance grazier Peter Hough, 5PH Grazing, shared volume buyer status after he also built a team of four bulls, operating from $4000 to $7500 for his selections.
The Hough family runs a self-replacing Angus herd and target the feeder market with their autumn-drop calves and Mr Hough said they had been buying bulls for seven years at Little Meadows, liking the longevity and general temperament of the bulls.
Willyabrup producer G & S Batley, assisted by Rob Gibbings, Elders, Capel, paid $12,500 for an AI-bred, early May 2019-drop bull by Beast Mode that recorded some excellent figures including top 4-8pc for all growth intervals, top 16pc MCW, top 11-22pc for all selection indexes and top 20pc CW.
An early May 2019-drop Bronc son in the following pen sold to an Esperance buyer operating on AuctionsPlus for $12,000 which also ranked extremely highly in its performance data including top 5-10pc for all growth, top 7pc MCW, top 3pc RBY, top 4pc EMA, top 3pc domestic index, top 4pc heavy grass index, 10pc Angus breeding index and top 20pc CW.
Consistent buyer at the top-end of the Little Meadows market Owen Hopkins, HM & OW Hopkins, Busselton, went to script with his two bulls in lots seven and eight costing $10,000 and $9000 which were both ET and AI-bred sons of Momentous.
There were many buyers who took the opportunity to secure a couple of bulls at good values which included Waterhatch Dairy, Deane Allen, Elders, Donnybrook and stud stock, Bucolo Holdings, Hazelmere, JP Giumelli, Brunswick, GF & JWC Morgan, Devereaux, Bullsbrook, Jacor Farms, Donnybrook and Deepwell.