IT will be a sea of black calves at the Mount Barker Regional Saleyards on Tuesday, January 10, when the Nutrien Livestock Great Southern team offers up 2500 quality Angus weaner calves from well-known southern producers.
This will be the 11th instalment of the special Angus weaner sale hosted by Nutrien Livestock at the yards and like in past years, the quality of the offering won't disappoint.
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The sale, which will start at the new time of 11am and be interfaced on AuctionsPlus, will be a full curfew sale and along with this, all the calves will be weaned for a minimum of 10 days and treated with Bovi Shield, meaning all the work will be done for buyers and the calves will be ready to go once they get them home.
Nutrien Livestock, Mt Barker agent and sale co-ordinator Harry Carroll said the sale presented a rare opportunity for buyers in terms of both the number of Angus calves available and how they have been prepared for sale.
"There are not many sales where buyers have an opportunity to select from 2500 Angus weaners which have a weight range that suits all markets - backgrounders, lotfeeders and live export," Mr Carroll said.
"It is a tremendous achievement to yard such a large yarding of Angus weaners backed by good breeding and top genetics.
"But it is not only the numbers, which makes this sale one of a kind, all the calves in the sale will have been weaned for a minimum 10 days prior to the sale and they have all been treated with Bovi Shield, meaning we are providing a product that feedlots and graziers are demanding.
"It's going to be a really good yarding of Angus calves again this year and I believe most of the lines will be heavier than last year due to the excellent feed season in the area.
"They are all in great condition and will be ideal for a range of markets.
"The majority of the yarding will be made up of steers but there will also be a small run of heifers and among these will be some heifers which will make excellent future breeders.
"The overall yarding which is mainly from repeat vendors will present very well and genetically a lot of these calves are very well bred, as the majority of vendors are prepared to invest in the best genetics available.
"They are a credit to the vendors and their breeding programs they are running."
Regular vendors, the Bairstow family, Arizona Farms, Lake Grace, will offer the largest draft, fronting up with 450 steers.
The March/April/May-drop steers are based nearly on pure Coonamble Angus bloodlines and will range from 320 to 430 kilograms.
Nutrien Livestock Great Southern manager Bob Pumphrey said the steers on offer from the Bairstows would not disappoint.
"They are a top line of steers and will be heavier than normal after coming through a very good season," Mr Pumphrey said.
The next biggest vendor will be inaugural vendor the Carroll family, Rayview Park, Albany, with an offering of 300 steers, which are based on predominantly Coonamble bloodlines.
The March/April drop steers are expected to weigh between 370-420kg.
Mr Carroll said the Rayview steers were in top condition and come sale time they would have been weaned between six to eight weeks.
The Gorman family, M & M Gorman Pty Ltd, Wellstead, will be the third biggest vendor with an offering of 220 steers.
The February/March-drop steers are based on Koojan Hills and Coonamble bloodlines and will weigh from 320-400kg.
They were weaned on November 20 and have been treated with Ultravac 7in1, Marks-Min, Moximax pour-on and Pestigard.
Longtime vendor the Blyth family, MJ Blyth & Co, Manypeaks, will also be among the largest vendors with an offering of 180 steers and 30 heifers.
The Blyth's calves were dropped in March and based on Coonamble and Koojan Hills bloodlines.
Mr Carroll said they were a quality line of calves and there would be potential breeders among the heifer draft.
"When the steers were weighed in early December they averaged more than 350kg," Mr Carroll said.
The Blyth's calves were weaned in mid-December and have had a Marks-Min treatment.
Fellow Manypeaks producers Tim and David Pyle, Millstream Pastoral, will be other vendors with a significant draft of steers in the yards.
The Pyles have nominated 200 steers which are based on Coonamble and Koojan Hills bloodlines.
The March/April drop steers were weaned at the end of November on to standing crops and Mr Carroll said they would weigh between 380-420kg.
Also offering numbers will be the Toovey family, LT Toovey & Sons, Cranbrook, with 100 steers with a weight range of 300-340kg.
The May/June-drop steers are from the family's large breeding herd based on its own Boyacup Angus stud bloodlines, which has a strong Mordallup, Coonamble and Black Market influence in it.
The line will be yard weaned in the lead up to the sale.
Another large vendor Casual Flats, Peaceful Bay, with truck in 110 weaners - 60 steers and 50 heifers based on Mordallup and Black Market bloodlines.
Nutrien Livestock, Manjimup representative Brett Chatley said the late February/March-drop calves were good, thick, well-muscled calves which were very quiet.
"The steers will weigh from 340-440kg and be ideal for the feedlot while the heifers will weigh from 300-360kg and the tops will be suitable for breeding," Mr Chatley said.
"This is their entire drop of heifers, as they have kept no replacements so there will definitely be some potential breeders among them."
The line was weaned at the end of November and has been treated with Marks-Min plus two doses of 7in1.
Gibson-based Quahlea Cattle Co also makes the list of larger vendors having nominated 100 steers.
The 8-10mo steers are based predominantly on Coonamble blood and will weigh between 340-380kg.
Come sale time, the line will have been weaned for close to six weeks.
The Wright family, RA & MA Wright, Kojonup, has nominated 50 steers and 30 heifers.
The 8-10mo calves are based on mainly Ardcairnie bloodlines.
The steers will average about 350-360kg while the heifers will average about 320-330kg and there will be some potential breeders among them.
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Also trucking calves down from Kojonup again will be GD & SC Jones, which has nominated 50 steers (350kg average) and 15 heifers (320kg average) that are 8-10mo.
The Jones's calves are based on Mason Valley, Ardcairnie and Ponderosa breeding and there will be some future breeders in the heifer offering.
Both lines coming in from Kojonup were weaned last week.
Also travelling from further afield will be 50 steers and 30 heifers from MF & KL Zweck, Pingrup.
The March/April-drop calves have been bred from Coonamble bloodlines.
They were weaned in mid-December and will range from 320-380kg.
