THE renowned quality and temperament of the Tullibardine Angus bulls was on display last week when the Murray family presented an extremely even line-up of sires at their annual, on-property bull sale at Redmond.
A total of 42 bulls flaunted themselves around the ring prompting stronger buyer interest which saw producers bid up on the bull they were looking for and a 100 per cent clearance was achieved.
The registered buyers list grew to 55 potentials this year, with buyers travelling from near and far with both new and returning buyers among the sale's attendees and all enjoyed the Murray family's hospitality.
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Strong and spirited bidding kept the sale alive from start to finish with this year's top price reaching a whopping $26,500 and an average of $12,679, which was up $2068 on last year's result.
Elders auctioneer and Donnybrook representative Pearce Watling took bids from all around the stands and said the sale went extremely well.
"It is one of the more even line-ups of bulls that the Murray family has presented," Mr Watling said.
"The prices really did reflect the quality of the bulls on offer."
Mr Watling said it was great to see bulls make more than $20,000 and the rest sell for predominantly more than $10,000.
"Buyers certainly seemed determined to get bulls that they wanted and weren't afraid to select the bulls that suited their needs," Mr Watling said.
Lot five bull, Tullibardine Sandman S32 attracted lots of buyer attention both pre-sale and in the auction and it was knocked down by Mr Watling for the sale's top price of $26,500 to Luke Gatti, L & C Gatti, Redmond.
Sandman S32 is a son of Banquet Pyramid P383 and out of Tullibardine Julitha N83.
It had estimated breeding values (EBVs) of +1.7 calving ease direct (CEDir), -4.0 gestation length (GL), +5.9 birthweight (BWT), +47, +91 and +123 for 200, 400 and 600-day weights, +128 mature cow weight (MCW), +10 for milk, +1.3 scrotal size (SS), -4.8 days to calving (DTC), +66 for carcase weight (CWT), -4.9 eye muscle area (EMA), +1.2 for rib fat, +3.6 P8 fat, -0.2 retail beef yield (RBY), -1.0 intramuscular fat (IMF), -0.45 net feed intake (NFI-F) and +20 for docility (DOC).
With these figures it ranks in the breed top 2pc for NFI-F, top 4pc for P8 fat, top 12pc MCW and top 21pc for rib fat.
Nutrien Livestock, Great Southern manager Bob Pumphrey said Mr Gatti was selecting based on a new bloodline.
"The new Banquet genetics will be used in his Angus nucleus herd," Mr Pumphrey said.
"Mr Gatti was also selecting on the overall correctness of the bull."
Mr Pumphrey said Mr Gatti chose the bull in particular because it had a good conformation, with good feet, a good temperament and an excellent body shape.
The $21,500 second top-priced bull from lot three, Tullibardine Soulmate S41, was snapped up by Glen Gatti, Gatti Grazing, Redmond.
Tullibardine Soulmate S41 was sired by Banquet Nixon N099 and out of Tullibardine Julitha Q62.
It has EBVs of +6.7 CEDir, -3.6 GL, +2.9 BWT, +38, +78 and +97 for 200, 400 and 600-day weights, +81 MCW, +23 for milk, +2.3 SS, -5.6 DTC, +53 CWT, +3.9 EMA, +2.5 for rib fat, +3.8 P8 fat, +0.3 RBY, +0.2 IMF, -0.02 NFI-F and +15 for DOC and and ranked it in the top 3pc for P8 fat, top 6pc for rib fat, top 12pc for milk, top 17pc for CEDir and top 24pc for BWT, DTC and NFI-F.
Mr Gatti went on to pay $17,500 for Tullibardine Spiderman S77 which is a son of Prime Maximus P36.
Spiderman S77 ranks in the top 4pc for P8 fat, top 11pc for GL, top 15pc for rib fat and top 22pc for MCW.
Three bulls sold for the $18,000 third top price.
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Picking up one of the $18,000 bulls was Elders Albany livestock manager Wayne Mitchell, Mountain Valley Livestock, Narrikup.
He paid $18,000 for Tullibardine Smoke Stack S55, which is sired by Hoover Dam.
Smoke Stack S55 ranks in the top 3pc for RBY, top 9pc for EMA, top 10pc NFI-F and SS, top 14pc for CWT, top 17-20pc DOC and 400 and 600-day weights.
Picking up the other $18,000 bull, Tullibardine Sergio S34 was Pyle Bros, Mt Barker.
The Tullibardine Powerhouse P12 son ranks in the top 1pc for CWT, top 2pc for 600-day weight, top 5pc for MCW and NFI-F, top 6pc for RBY, top 7pc for milk, top 8pc for 400-day weight and top 15pc for 200-day weight.
Purchasing the largest team of bulls during the auction was GMC Corporation, Denmark, which secured seven bulls at an average of $10,714.
It paid a top of $13,000 for a Prime Maximus P36 son, Tullibardine Skull Duggery S2.
Skull Duggery ranks in the top 3pc for GL, top 17pc for P8 fat, top 14pc for NFI-F and top 23pc for rib fat.
Also taking home a larger team of bulls was BJ Panizza Family Trust, Albany, which successfully bid on three bulls at an average of $15,333.
Its top price was the third $18,000 bull in the sale, Tullibardine Spotlight S69, which is sired by Cherylton Investment P83.
Spotlight ranks in the top 1pc for P8 fat and rib fat, and top 9pc for GL.
Also bidding at the higher end of the catalogue was Rayview Park P/L, Kalgan, when it secured a son of Banquet Pyramid P383, Tullibardine Salvatore S10, for $15,000.
Salvatore ranks in the top 4pc for NFI-F, top 6pc MCW, top 9pc SS and 400-day weight and top 11pc for RBY and 600-day weight.
Another buyer to pay $15,000 was SA & SH Smith, Narrikup, for Tullibardine Scooter S97, which is sired by Prime Juggernaut N77.
Scooter S97 ranks in the top 8pc for CWT, top 12pc for 400-day weight and top 12pc for 400-day weight and SS, top 13pc for MCW and DTC.
The Smith family rounded out their purchases with a Prime Up River N40 son, Tullibardine Safari S90 at $11,000.
Tullibardine stud principal Alastair Murray said he was very pleased with the sale result.
"We had both new and old clients at the sale which was very pleasing to see," Mr Murray said.
"I would like to thank all the buyers and underbidders that were active in the sale, we really appreciate it."
Mr Murray said he was also very happy with the 100pc clearance this year.
"We have been using predominantly Australian-bred bulls and sometimes American bulls, but I'd rather see them in the flesh," he said.
"I am currently using about seven or eight Banquet sires from Victoria and Prime Angus sires too.
"Overall we are really happy with the results we achieved and we are grateful for our long-time loyal clients and the new faces from the South West we saw too."
