THE Dewar family enjoyed a memorable sale debut as new owners of the Ardcairnie Angus stud, hosting its first annual bull sale at the Gingin selling complex.
The Guilderton-based stud presented a top catalogue of 62 well-bred, quiet, paddock-prepared Angus bulls featuring an extensive range of homebred, Australian and international genetics and reflecting previous stud owners Jim and Pam McGregor's legacy of presenting 'fit not fat' bulls.
The McGregors were in attendance and delighted for the Dewar family with the sale result.
At its new home, the fixture attracted return buyers of Ardcairnie bulls, along with a string of new buyers to the fold who helped record an extremely strong result and far exceeded the expectations of stud co-principal Joe Dewar and his family.
Strong local support joined buyers from the South West, South Coast, Central Midlands and northern agricultural regions to form a register of 39 prospective buyers who competed strongly through to the final lot on their selected bulls with the Nutrien Livestock selling team clearing 54 bulls under the hammer (87 per cent) for an average of $8315.
These were solid gains on the McGregor's 24th and final on-property sale at Kojonup last year where they sold 43 of 52 bulls (83pc) at auction for a $6628 average.
There were 15 bulls that sold for five figures and further highlighting the depth of the sale team was the $17,500 top price recorded consecutively for two bulls penned in lots 25 and 27 (lot 26 was withdrawn).
Long-time Ardcairnie supporters for more than 20 years, the Roe family, Benalong Grazing, Gingin, raised the bar on the $14,000 purchase earlier in the sale to first pay the $17,500 equal top price for Ardcairnie Rowdy R144.
The mid-May 2020-born bull was AI-bred by Millah Murrah Nugget N266 and out of homebred cow Georgina J186 and performed strongly in growth and carcase figures (February 2022) for a moderate birthweight bull (top 40pc).
It ranked in the breed's top 7pc for gestation length (GL), top 8-20pc for all weight intervals, top 5pc milk, top 7pc carcase weight (CW), top 14pc retail beef yield (RBY) and top 15-25 for both Angus Breeding indexes.
The Roe's equal second top price $14,000 bid went to a late May 2020 born AI-bred bull by USA sire Musgrave 316 Stunner which was also a moderate birthweight high performing bull.
David Roe said the honesty of the Ardcairnie herd and the way the bulls were prepared and sold had kept them returning for more than two decades.
"My analogy is you can't run a marathon at 130 kilograms - you get longevity from the Ardcairnie bulls because they are not overfed," Mr Roe said.
"The temperament is very good, there is plenty of choice in genetics and the commercial approach to the cow herd tests its fertility and production.
"From our perspective we are pleased the Dewars have taken the stud on and are consistent with the McGregor's principals."
The Roes are set to calve down their 720 head self-replacing Angus breeding herd in April with the calves yard weaned at seven months and mainly steer calves turned off a month later weighing from 300 to 350kg, averaging 320kg with another large draft of 120 heifers set to be offered on AuctionsPlus again this autumn.
"We work the calves through the yards several times to build their natural immunity to IBR and make them comfortable with confined spaces," he said.
First time Ardcairnie buyer Glen Wilkinson, G & N Wilkinson, Badgingarra, followed suit paying the $17,500 equal top price for the following bull Ardcairnie Reviver R337.
Reviver was a late June 2020-drop calf by local sire Blackrock M17 and out of a Connealy Confidence 100 daughter Ardcairnie Diana Ram M37.
It also recorded some impressive current Breedplan data ranking in the top 7pc GL, top 5-9pc for all weight intervals, top 4pc scrotal (SS), top 9pc CW, top 7-13 for both Angus indexes and in the top 20-30pc for milk, days to calving (DTC), eye muscle (EMA) and RBY.
Mr Wilkinson later added a Stunner son to his sire battery for $10,000.
The Wilkinsons run a self-replacing Angus breeding herd of 350 females which calve from April 1.
For the past 10 years, bull calves have been kept entire and sold to the export market in December aiming for weights just shy of 300kg to attract premiums, while surplus heifers have gone to the Chinese export market in recent seasons.
When selecting bulls Mr Wilkinson said he looked for high 200-day weight, moderate mature cow and birthweight, positive fats and bulls that are structurally sound.
There were plenty of buyers prepared to spend up on their selections, none more so than the sale's most prominent buyer Mike Stanton, Cullalla Feedlot and International Livestock Exports, Gingin.
Mr Stanton built a team of eight bulls, costing from second $5000 to the sale's equal top price of $14,000 at an average of $9000.
His top price was reserved for lot 13 containing Ardcairnie Rebel R4, a late March 2020-drop AI-bred bull by USA sire Exar Monumental 6056B and out of another Georgina family cow.
The average birthweight bull ranked in the 13-19pc for GL and calving ease Dtrs, top 3-10pc for all weight intervals, top 10pc CW, top 12pc RBY, top 8pc feed efficiency (NFI-F) and top 5-10pc for both indexes.
Return top-end buyer Bullrush Farm, Gingin, collected a team of three bulls at strong values averaging $11,333 including purchases of $13,000 and $12,500.
Its top bid was paid later in the sale for an AI-bred son of Millah Murrah Loch Up L133 penned in lot 47 but it kicked the sale off with a $12,500 bid for the AI-bred sale team leader by USA sire GAR Fail Safe.
Some of the sale's more prominent buyers included return local buyer Old Bambun Grazing, Gingin, finishing the sale with six bulls to its account costing from $5000 to $9500, Kayanaba Grazing Company, Dandaragan, collected five bulls at the same price range, Perth Central Holdings Pty Ltd spent from $6000 to $7500 for a team of four bulls, while Bindanna Farms Pty Ltd, Morawa and GA & SA Gifford, Gingin, purchased three bulls each.
Some of the other higher values paid on the day for one of two bulls included Daneholme Farms, Boyup Brook, who parted with $12,000 for an AI-bred son of Musgrave Mediator (USA), Coonabidgee Grazing Company, Gingin, which bid $11,500 for lot 60 containing a homebred bull by Ardcairnie M117 and RHG Alp, Gingin, which paid $11,000 for an AI-bred bull by Nugget.
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