UNBELIEVABLE, mind boggling, outstanding, use whatever superlative you like and it is still hard to fully describe the quality, support and result of the Nutrien Livestock Special Female Sale at Boyanup last week.
Buyers came from near and far, with many leaving with their bank accounts still intact as the competition was way to hot for them.
The buying gallery remained to the last pen with numerous bidders still competing in the hope of securing some of the proven breeders on offer in the herd reduction for RF & RE Walker, Coonac Angus, Wilga.
The final result saw 524 heifers and cows offered and sold to top at $5100 and an average of $2698.
Broken down into the different categories, in order of selling, the 248 first-cross unmated heifers sold to $2600 and averaged $1863 with several pens at the end only being poddie size.
The straight beef unmated heifers blitzed the first-cross heifers when the 129 offered all sold to a top of $2850 and an average of $2515.
While many had attended the sale to compete on the heifers, a large contingent were there to buy the various aged cows in the RF & RE Walker herd reduction and compete they did.
The 138 cows offered and sold in this section of the sale sold to a top $5100 and averaged $4401.
Breaking the sea of black, the sale finished with a pen of nine Brahman cows with baby calves at foot and these sold for $2200.
The sale started with the unmated first-cross heifers and leading the offering was the Angus cross heifers.
Up first in the run were three pens of Angus-Friesian heifers from Mahaffey Family Trust, Benger.
The first pen of six Angus-Friesians went to BW & AM Ross at $2300.
Elders, Nannup agent Terry Tarbotton then bid to $2300 for the next seven Angus-Friesians buying for LM & EA Crouch, regular presenters of mated heifers each year while Nutrien Livestock, Waroona agent Richard Pollock took the final three which were Angus-Jersey cross at $1800.
Nutrien Livestock, Busselton and Margaret River agent Jock Embry had several buying orders in his pocket.
He took eight Angus-Friesian heifers from V & G Ieraci & Sons at $2300 before Jamie O'Byrne, Bradlake Farming, Dunsborough, paid the top price of $2600 for six Angus-Friesians from the Ieraci family's draft.
Also making $2300 was the next line, six Angus-Friesian heifers sold account C & L Italiano, with these going to BW & AM Ross.
Several vendors enjoyed support from the Roberts family, KS & EN Roberts & Son, Elgin, producers who need no introduction.
The Roberts family paid $2300 for six Angus-Friesian heifers presented by SJ & RM Piggott & Son, before selecting nine Angus-Friesians from V & G Ieraci & Sons costing $2400 as well as another eight for $2200.
Mr Embry added 10 Angus-Friesian heifers sold by G, GD & M Tartaglia, Brunswick, for his client, with these making $2300 also.
Nurtien Livestock, Brunswick/Harvey agent Errol Gardiner paid $2250 for 10 Angus-Friesian Tartaglia heifers as well as $2000 for another nine Angus-Friesians from
C & L Italiano & Sons.
The first line of nine Angus-Friesian heifers offered by Kelly-Brae, Gelorup, went to Bernie Ridley, Brunswick, at $1950 while Mr Pollock secured the next nine at $1700.
Competition continued as the age and size reduced in the heifers, with Mr Ridley paying $2000 for a pen of six Angus-Friesian heifers presented by SJ & RM Piggott & Son, then later adding eight Angus-Friesians from the Tartaglia draft at $1450.
C & L Italiano and Tartaglia heifers found new homes at S & T Granucci paddocks, Manjimup, when the lines of nine and 12 Angus-Friesians sold for $1850 each.
Nutrien Livestock, Boyup Brook agent Jamie Abbs took a pen of seven Angus-Friesian heifers from the Tartaglia draft costing $1850 before including another eight of these at $1600.
Mr Gardiner bought Angus-Friesian heifers from Casad Pty Ltd for $1800, as well as another nine costing $1600 before including 11 from C & L Italiano at $1500.
Several pens of longer-term heifers sold by Casad Pty Ltd were mainly knocked down to Mr Pollock from $1100 up to $1380, with Mr Abbs sneaking the top line of three Murray Grey-Friesian cross heifers for $1640.
Advocates of pure beef heifers over the first-cross females received some ammunition for their argument, with the higher prices for these and sustained demand.
Illustrating the demand was the lowest price paid being $2300.
The top of $2850 was paid by Treeton Lake, Cowaramup, for nine Angus from RF & RE Walker with the 384kg heifers equating to 742c/kg.
Willowbank, Benger, snapped up the next two pens of Walker heifers paying $2800 for both with these equating to 793c/kg and 843c/kg.
Mr Abbs had earlier got the beef heifers off to a strong start when he paid $2300 for 10 Angus sold by LR Payne.
Mr Abbs then added the first pen from TC & KS Cox, Elgin, paying $2400 for the pen of Angus.
Mr Embry snapped up the next two pens of the Cox Angus heifers paying $2450 for the lines of eight heifers in each.
Mr Abbs was on a roll by this stage of the sale, paying $2550 for two pens of nine and 10 Angus heifers sold account Gan Family Trust, Bridgetown.
J & A Patane, Donnybrook, sold eight Angus heifers to Willowbank for $2400 before Laurance Grant, Nutrien Livestock, Bridgetown, bid to $2300 for the next eight heifers from the Patane offering.
Mr Embry continued buying for his Nannup client, paying $2600 and $2400 for lines of eight Angus heifers from Kelly-Brae, Gelorup.
Charlie Roberts, Charcol Springs, Manjimup, was all smiles when his pen of six Angus heifers went to the bid of Mr Abbs at $2450.
The final pen from Kau & Sons, Yarloop, made $2300 when snapped up by Mr Grant.
Anticipation ratcheted up on the start of the mated cows on offer in RF & RE Walker's herd reduction which were offered from youngest to oldest.
Loton Investment Pty Ltd secured the first two pens containing seven and three first calving cows, with an April/May calving date, at $4500 and $4400.
It then later added another six second calving females at $4800.
Mr Gardiner was quick to see the value in the next line of six cows with a later date to calve of May/June, which deterred some from competing with these the buy of the draft at $3800.
The first pen of six second calving breeders due in April, appealed to Mr Abbs who withstood the competition to secure these for the day's top of $5100.
From there, Nutrien Livestock, Kojonup agent Troy Hornby was on a roll for his clients NW Knowles & Co, snapping up five pens in succession, paying up to $4750 for a pen of four as well as $4700 for another line of four.
Mr Abbs then bid to $4800 to win the battle in securing the next two lines containing five and six cows respectively, with these due to calve in April/May.
Demand never wavered as the ages crept up, with Loton Investments paying $5000 for a line of six fourth calvers before taking the next pen of six for $4500.
The Kojonup contingent then got a second wind and joined the clerking sheets again, paying $4500 for three due to calve in April.
They quickly added another six due in June at $4600 later joining these with five for $4350 and five aged cows at $3800.
Other buyers were TW & AL Hoddle, two lines of six at $4400 while Maranup Ford bought a pen at $4050.
Mr Abbs added competition to the last couple of pens, paying $4050, $3700, $3850 and before those $4100.
The last pen of these weighed 940kg, the heaviest in the reduction offering.
AuctionsPlus biggers were logged in and tried but were only successful in purchasing one pen - four older cows at $4900.
The nine Brahman cows and calves did not attract quite the same support but sold under some competition to make $2200 for vendor Minga Flats when bought by Charles Hull Contracting, Waroona.
What the agent said:
NUTRIEN Livestock auctioneer and Boyanup/ Donnybrook and Capel agent Chris Waddingham said it was a really solid market today for the breeder sale.
"The sale offering consisted of unmated first-cross heifers of all age groups, a top quality offering of unmated beef heifers and undoubtedly the feature of the was was the major herd reduction of RF & RE Walker's Coonac Angus herd," Mr Waddingham said.
"All of these categories sold over vendor's expectations with buyers clearly prepared to pay for genetic improvement and high quality breeding stock."
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