Oceans of interstate support buoy Raff Angus bull sale

As Australian flags stood to attention in the stiff westerly breeze at the sale venue, the top price of $34,000 was reached twice, paid by Dennis Heywood, Everton, Victoria and by Greenlands Pastoral Company at Ben Lomond, NSW.

In all, 80 per cent, or 85 of the 107 bulls offered at the Boots on the Ground sale at Drillham were sold under the hammer, and an average of $10,659 was recorded.

It's less than last year's result of 100pc clearance of 104 bulls for an average price of $17,827 and a stud record top of $50,000, but stud principal Andrew Raff said he had been expecting a correction.

"We would be bits of mugs to expect to go anywhere near last year's result," he said. "Before the sale we said we'd be happy with an average of $10,000 and we went a little over it."

Mr Raff added that while the average of over $10,000 was a significant price correction it was reflective of the current cattle market and seasonal conditions throughout the state.

"We were pleased with this result as it allowed those clients with a base price budget the opportunity to purchase bulls of very high quality," he said.

The Raff family relocated from Drillham to King Island in Bass Strait seven years ago, and Friday's sale was their third at the Western Downs venue. They moved their sale bulls up via boat and truck to country at Condamine in mid-April.

Mr Raff said the two top priced bulls at Friday's sale had been outstanding from birth and he was pleased to see the value reflect their quality.

The first high point came at lot seven after a variable start, with prices ranging from $26,000 to $12,000.

Bidding for Raff Appeal S330pv started at $12,000 and escalated quickly to the finishing price of $34,000, knocked down to Victorian Dennis Heywood.

A son of the bull who also produced Raff Empire E2269, winner of 11 of 13 supreme beef exhibit awards, Appeal weighed 974kg at 23 months and boasted an average daily weight gain of 1.36kg.

His scrotal circumference was 49cm and his intra-muscular fat was 7.1pc.

Seven lots later the bidding once again heated up, for Raff Panther S509sv, whose dam, Raff Blackbird H397pv, is a genetic sister to Raff Hercules H411, the 2015 grand champion Angus exhibit at Beef Australia.

The 22-month-old bull weighed 836kg on the day, with an ADG of 1.21kg, a scrotal circumference of 40cm, and an IMF of 6.1pc.

He was knocked down to Greenlands Pastoral Company at Ben Lomond in the northern New England area.

They announced their intentions when the first bull, one of three sires used by the stud, entered the ring, outbidding the competition with a price of $26,000 for 34-month-old Raff Rafael R543pv.

Andrew and Anna Raff's eldest daughter Georgina Raff made her sale debut with lot 52, Raff Quartz S534sv, who was sold to Johnstone Land & Cattle at Banana for $15,000 after an exciting bidding duel.

It gave the secondary school student boasting rights for having the family's best sale average, and was the result of a Christmas present of a stud heifer, Raff Moriah Q385pv, joined to Raff Quartz Q113pv, who produced Georgina's first bull calf.

The grown bull weighed 788kg and had a scrotal circumference of 43cm plus an IMF score of 7.3pc.

"I'm not sure where I'll go with it now, but it's fun to get involved in the business," she said.

The other sale of note was $24,000 for Raff Rocco T51pv, one of the 18-month-old autumn bulls, who was sold to Charles Kimpton of Glen Thompson, Victoria.

Mr Raff said they were loyal clients whose selection preference was for animals with extra frame.

Thirty-two of the younger bulls were sold from an offering of 51, or a 63pc clearance, for an average price of $9200.

Mr Raff said while there was only a five month age difference between them and the rest of the catalogue, the older bulls were physically more appealing and so the younger ones could be overlooked.

"On today's money, the younger ones were extreme value for money," he said.

He thanked the loyal clients who had been buying every year for up to 20 years.

Volume buyers included Top End Partnership, Blackwater, selecting seven bulls for an average of $12,857, Cornford Grazing at Charleville, who bought six bulls for $7333 on average, and the Black family, Nebrean Pty Ltd, Dalby, who paid an average $6400 for 10 bulls.

While the sale was tagged 'Boots on the Ground' and a 1pc discount given to purchasers who attended the sale in person, eight bulls were bought online, two each to Greg Hill of Wandsworth, NSW, Justin Hill, Corryong, Victoria, and to Queensland buyers RBV Rural at Emerald and Millmerran Rural.

Explaining the sale's name and rationale, Mr Raff said he wanted to bring one-on-one eye contact back to sales.

"We are a seedstock producer. It is our duty to provide as much information on each sale lot as we possibly can," he said.

"While we have certain personal beliefs on industry trends with the use of scientific based performance platforms it is not our role to be seen as, in some way, a dictator of what is right or wrong to commercial producers.

"However, with the way that science unfairly and inaccurately reports our herd for some traits we believe it important to have as many people personally and independently inspect our cattle to give better understanding of our program."

Another four bulls were sold following the auction.