IT takes only two words to describe last week's 17th annual Biara Santa Gertrudis on-property sale at Northampton and they are solid and consistent.
With a very even line-up of quality bulls and females across the board buyers were spoilt for choice and they responded accordingly with their bidding right through to the final lot.
In the sale prices hit a high of $21,000 for a Santa Gertrudis bull sold by guest vendor Wendy Gould, Wendalla stud, Bolgart, while the Hasleby family's Biara stud recorded a top price of $14,000 for their catalogue of bulls and $2700 for a line of 10 Santa Gertrudis heifers eligible for registration.
On the back of an extremely strong cattle market and improved seasonal conditions in 2021 across most buying regions the 31 registered buyers at the sale weren't afraid to bid up and as a result at the completion of selling the Nutrien Livestock team led by auctioneer Tiny Holly had notched up a solid sale result.
Along with receiving strong support from the buyers on the grass terraces, the selling team also fielded online bids from the AuctionsPlus platform.
Online the fixture attracted 41 bidders from New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and WA and received 2012 catalogue views.
During the sale 93 online bids were placed across 30 lots which resulted in six bulls and the two lines of Santa Gertrudis heifers selling online.
Combined the Biara and Wendalla studs sold 101 bulls (99 Santa Gertrudis and two Sangus) from 104 offered at an average of $6302, which was back $514 on last year.
While the average was back on last year the number of bulls sold was up 22 head and the gross was up $98,000.
In 2021 the two studs sold 79 from 80 bulls offered at an average of $6816.
The three lines of heifers offered also attracted good competition with two selling under the hammer for an average of $2600, up $692 on last year.
Mr Holly said it was a strong sale throughout, despite not having as many high peaks as last year.
"We offered an increased catalogue of 104 bulls, up 23 head on last year and to clear nearly all them is a top result," Mr Holly said.
"The sale attracted good buying support from pastoralists, which had seen rain and also those in the south and the Eastern States both operating at the sale and on AuctionsPlus," Mr Holly said.
"The Hasleby family need to be congratulated on their presentation of a very even and quality line-up of bulls and the quality was recognised by the breed's general manager Chris Todd, who commented on it.
"Volume buyers were strong throughout the Biara line-up and put a good base in the market which helped the stud achieve a near perfect clearance of the 98 bulls it offered
"Biara also saw new buyers operating on its team which is always pleasing to see.
"The Santa Gertrudis heifers offered by Biara were a sought after item and received strong and competitive bidding, while the line of Sangus heifers which were passed in under the hammer sold quickly afterwards.
"All these heifers were true to type and displayed excellent breed characteristics.
"Congratulations also goes to Wendalla stud principal Wendy Gould on achieving an excellent sale result in terms of both prices and clearance, which is encouraging for her given what she and her family have put into the breed and the stud over the years."
The sale's $21,000 top price was recorded three quarters of the way through the sale at lot 72 when a deep, long-bodied sire, Wendalla Uptown U01 (P), offered by the Wendalla stud, entered the ring.
Mr Holly took an opening bid of $5000 on the well-muscled sire and from there the price raced up as the selling team fielded bids from all directions.
In the end it was first-time Wendalla buyers Matt and Mel Leeds, 3 Sons stud, Regans Ford, who prevailed at $21,000 to set a new stud record price for the Wendalla stud.
The polled, 24-month-old, classified S, Uptown U01 (P), is by Bullamakinka High Expectation H178 (P) and out of Wendalla Nerida N33 (P).
Uptown U01 weighed in at 768 kilograms and had a scrotal circumference of 39cm to go with a morphology of 81 per cent.
Ms Leeds said they attended the sale with the intention of purchasing Uptown after picking it out when they inspected the Wendalla bulls on-property prior to the sale.
"He was the standout bull in our eyes when we inspected the team and ticked all the boxes for us," Ms Leeds said.
"For us he is the complete package in terms of both his genotype and phenotype.
"He is a beautiful, deep, soft bull with an exceptional temperament and is true to the breed type.
"He also has consistency on his sire side while on the dam side there is high fertility."
The Leeds family, who registered their stud in 2020, run about 110 Santa Gertrudis breeders in their stud which includes 50 classified S and S bar females.
Ms Leeds said their aim was to breed an animal with good do-ability, temperament and fertility.
Losing bidders on the top-priced Wendalla bull were Martin and Deborah Avery, ML, DA & SO Avery Pty Ltd, Mt Stuart station, Nanutarra and Badgingarra.
Biara
The Hasleby family presented a large, even yarding of well-grown, measured and tested Santa Gertrudis and Sangus bulls and with the exception of a couple of horned bulls, all the bulls were either double poll, poll or poll/scur and there was no doubt the buyers appreciated the quality on offer as it showed in their bidding.
When the final numbers were crunched the Biara stud had sold 93 from 95 Santa Gertrudis bulls offered to a top of $14,000 and an average of $6167, down $861 on last year's result and two from three Sangus at an average of $4000, which was down $250.
In 2021 the stud sold 71 from 72 Santa Gertrudis sires at a $7028 average and four from four Sangus at a $4250 average.
Taking the $14,000 top price honours in the Biara catalogue was the upstanding Biara 0139 (P) in lot nine when it sold to return buyers Martin and Deborah Avery.
Mr Avery, who purchased his first purebred Santa Gertrudis bull in 1971 from Mt Barker, said Biara 0139 was a well-structured bull with good fleshing.
"He also had a very good temperament which is important to us," Mr Avery said.
The classified S, 702kg, early June 2020-drop bull, is sired by Gyranda Kenny (PS) and out of a Wightfields Downpour (P) daughter, Biara 7018 (P) (AI).
Biara 0139 has estimated breeding values (EBVs) of +8, +19 and +24 for 200, 400 and 600-day weights, +33 mature cow weight (MCW), +1.4 scrotal size (SS), -3.8 days to calving (DTC) and +$23 and +$29 for the domestic and export indexes respectively.
Biara 0139 will be used by the Avery family in a nucleus herd of breeders to breed bulls for their own use.
Two bulls recorded the $12,000 second top price in the Biara run.
The first of these was the 738kg, 23mo, Biara 0013 (PP) (AI) in lot 10 when it sold to the Kanny family, Bonegilla Grazing, Manjimup.
The homozygous polled bull, which is a son of Rosevale Maverick (P) and a first calver, had stood out since birth in the eyes of the Hasleby family.
The dark, deep, soft bull has EBVs of +17, +29 and +39 for 200, 400 and 600-day weights, +53 MCW, which ranks it in the top 10-15pc of the breed and +1.0 for SS and -5.1 for DTC.
It also ranks in the top 5-10pc for the domestic (+$30) and export (+$39) indexes.
The other bull to hit $12,000 was the 16mo Rosevale S194 (PP) in lot 34 when it was purchased by Mark and Chloe Madew, Cundarra stud, Gingin.
The 636kg, classified S, sire, which is by Rosevale Noah (PP) and out of Rosevale Afra L45 (P), was purchased by the Biara stud as a calf at foot.
Mr Madew said the bull was a well-balanced sire in terms of both its physical appearance and figures.
"He is a good young bull with a high morphology and good growth figures," Mr Madew said.
"He also has a near perfect sheath."
Rosevale S194 had a 89pc morphology at 14 months of age and has EBVs of +15, +30 and +40 for 200, 400 and 600-day weights, +39 MCW, +1.5 SS and +2.4 DTC.
A fourth bull in the Biara team, Biara 0152 (PP), sold for five figures when it was knocked down at $10,000 to return buyer Ian Halleen, HXA Pty Ltd, Chittering.
The 736kg bull is a son of Gyranda Kenny and Biara 2044 (P), which has had eight calves in eight years.
Biara 0152 has EBVs of +9, +18 and +22 for 200, 400 and 600-day weights and index values of +$23 for domestic and +$29 for export while its morphology was 89pc.
Along with purchasing Biara 0152, Mr Halleen also secured a 22mo, 750kg Rosevale Jackaroo J566 (P) son, Biara 0061 (PP) for $9000.
While there was some solid bidding at the top end of the Biara Santa Gertrudis bulls it was a sale where volume buyers wielded the strongest influence, ensuring a top result for all involved.
Having the biggest impact on the Biara result was a Nutrien Livestock, Port Hedland account, which secured 25 bulls at an average of $5320.
The account paid between $4000 to $7500 for its selections.
Return buyers of 20 years Kim and Kris Parsons, Coolawanyah station, Tom Price, were also significant volume buyers purchasing 12 Biara bulls to a top of $8000 and an average of $6792.
Kim Parsons said they liked the Biara bulls as they were good strong bulls which had good sheaths and muscling.
"Today there was a very good, even line-up of bulls to choose from and the bulls were a credit to the Hasleby family," Mr Parsons said.
The Parsons family has been running Santa Gertrudis cattle for 50 years and Mr Parsons said they like the breed for its market versatility and good growth (weight for age).
Currently the family is running 1800 pure Santa Gertrudis breeders but hope to increase their breeding numbers to 2500 head in coming years.
Another strong supporter was second year buyer Hamersley and Rocklea stations, Tom Price, which purchased six bulls to a top of $7000 twice and an average of $6000.
Manager Mark Lanyon said the operation was currently running 5000 Santa Gertrudis and Droughtmaster breeders across the two stations.
"We like the Santa Gertrudis breed because of its doing-ability and the marketing options it provides," Mr Lanyon said.
"They also suit our country well and cross well with the Droughtmaster breed."
Other buyers in the volume stakes were Oakville Nominees Pty Ltd, Billabong station, Mullewa, which purchased eight Santa Gertrudis bulls to a top of $5500 three times and average of $4563, while T & C Hodshon, Atley station, Sandstone, secured seven bulls to a top of $7500 twice and average of $6286.
The two black Sangus bulls, which sold, both made $4000 and went to Great Northern Cattle Co, Gingin.
The Hasleby family's offering also consisted of 33 unjoined heifers aged nine to 12 months comprising 20 Santa Gertrudis eligible for registration and 13 commercial Sangus.
When these went through the ring all 20 Santa Gertrudis heifers found a new home, selling for a $2600 average, while the 13 Sangus were passed during the auction but quick post sale negotiations also had them heading to a new home at $2200 a head.
The two pens (10 head in each) of Santa Gertrudis heifers sold at $2700 and $2500 to a buyer operating on AuctionsPlus based at Bailup, which also bought the first Biara Santa Gertrudis bull offered at $7500.
Wendalla
Ms Gould's Wendalla stud not only recorded the day's top price setting a new record for her stud, but also saw a big jump in average compared to last year.
Wendalla offered six bulls and sold them all at a stud record average of $9167, which was up $3542.
In 2021 the stud offered five bulls and sold four under the hammer for a $5625 average.
Ms Gould said she believed her excellent results were a culmination of the work and efforts put into the stud by her parents Alan and Pauline (her mother is still involved) over the years and the new bloodlines she had introduced in recent years.
"I thought I had a good team of bulls this year but I certainly was not expecting to achieve the results I did," Ms Gould said.
"To have the local 3 Sons stud plus Queensland and New South Wales studs, operating alongside renowned commercial producers on my bulls is a pleasing endorsement of my breeding direction.
"I am very grateful to the Hasleby family for allowing me to sell in their sale."
The second highest price in the Wendalla run was $8000 twice.
The first to pay this value was Andrew and Angela Doering, AJ & AM Doering, Spring Creek stud, Crooble, New South Wales, bidding through Mr Todd.
The Doerings secured the 21mo, 680kg, Wendalla Universe U24 (P), which is a son of Bullamakinka High Expectation H178 (P).
The classified S bull had a morphology of 73pc and scrotal circumference of 39cm.
The other Wendalla sire to sell at $8000 was Wendalla Utopian U14 (P) knocked down to Dean and Kate Ryan, Central Stockcare, Badgingarra, operating on AuctionsPlus.
The 22mo, 705kg Utopian U14 (P) is by Yarrawonga L736 (P) and the Ryans will use the bull over Charolais-Santa Gertrudis heifers.
Mr Ryan later purchased two Biara bulls at $6500 and $6000, which will head to the family's Minnie Creek station, Upper Gascoyne.
The remaining three bulls sold by Wendalla made $7000, $6000 and $5000 selling to Coolawanyah station, Moorarie station, Meekatharra and Nutrien Livestock Port Hedland respectively.
Ms Gould, who is also the breed's publicity officer in WA, said she wasn't only extremely happy with her result but the whole sale result in general as it highlighted the demand for Santa Gertrudis cattle in WA.
"Santa Gertrudis cattle are increasingly being recognised for their superior weights and weight gaining ability off grass or grain and their market versatility making them ideal for both southern and northern herds," she said.
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