Given the current position of the cattle market, there is no doubt all involved in last week's Great Southern Blue Ribbon Bull Sale at Mt Barker would have been a little nervous in the lead up.
But they shouldn't have been because when the final bull left the ring, there were a number of positives to be found.
Despite prices in the sale being back on last year's record-breaking fixture, agents and vendors walked away happy as they had seen the same number of bulls sold as last year plus four bulls selling for $10,000 or more.
It appeared, despite the position of the cattle industry and seasonal conditions, buyers were still prepared to invest in new genetics to keep their herds moving forward, bidding solidly throughout the catalogue to ensure a positive start to the 2024 bull selling season.
With good buying support across nearly all breeds, the Nutrien Livestock selling team led by auctioneer Tiny Holly cleared 44 of the 56 bulls offered by seven regular vendors under the hammer to a top of $14,500 paid for a Black Simmental bull from the Naracoopa stud, Denmark and for an overall average of $6364, which was back $1568 on last year.
In comparison, in last year's sale 48 bulls were offered and 44 also sold under the hammer to a top of $19,500 and a sale record average of $7932.
Mr Holly said given current market conditions the sale was expected to be softer than the previous couple of years and it was.
"The bulls presented very well and were excellent types backed up by good figures," Mr Holly said.
"It is a credit to the vendors to continue to put up quality offerings in these challenging times but it is important as producers can't afford not to buy quality.
"The top quality bulls with both figures and the shop front were sought after and saw strong interest from a number of bidders, which was pleasing to see.
"But in the main it appeared buyers were a little more cautious when it came to price compared to past years when the market was stronger.
"The Simmental breed was the standout in the sale and sold very well to mainly repeat buyers on the back of them knowing the product."
Nutrien Livestock Great Southern manager Bob Pumphrey said overall both the agents and vendors were happy with the final results given the current position of the cattle market.
"The quality of the line-up across all breeds I believe was the best we have ever offered which is a credit to the breeders, however it was definitely a buyers market compared to the past few years" Mr Pumphrey said.
"While some buyers were cautious in terms of the prices they were prepared to pay, others saw the sale as an opportunity to purchase additional sires at the lower prices and get rid of older bulls.
"It was certainly a great opportunity for producers to upgrade their genetics given the quality of bulls on offer."
The biggest recipients of the positive belief of producers in the future of the cattle industry were Naracoopa stud principals Kevin and Janice Hard, who sold three bulls for $10,000 or more including the sale's top-priced bull at $14,500.
Recording the $14,500 top price for the Hards was a soft, thick Black Simmental sire which goes by the name of Naracoopa Trusty T033 (P) (B).
When it strolled into the ring in lot 52 it caught the eye of a number of buyers.
Mr Holly took an opening bid of $5000 on the deep, well-muscled 866 kilogram sire and from there the bids flew in.
Eventually it was return stud buyer Andy Hann, Greendale Simmental stud, Esperance, bidding over AuctionsPlus from Esperance, who landed the final blow to secure the balanced sire.
When Mr Hann placed his winning bid on the computer and secured the bull, it meant for a fourth year running he was the sale's top price buyer and the Simmental/Black Simmental breed had also claimed top price honours.
Mr Hann picked the bull out for its overall balance after seeing photos and video of it.
"I didn't see him in the flesh before buying him but when he turned up the day after the sale I was very happy with him," Mr Hann said.
"He is a well-muscled bull with good depth of body and a great hindquarter.
"He also has very good milk figures.
"He is just a well-balanced sire and he will also be a slightly different bloodline for our herd which was something I was chasing as well."
Trusty T033 is by Woonallee Moonshine and out of Woonallee Keepsake L68.
It has expected progeny differences (EPDs) of 6.1 calving ease (CE), 5.8 birthweight (BWT), 81 weaning weight (WWT), 116.4 yearling weight (YWT), 28.8 milk, 2.5 maternal calving ease (MCE), 69.3 maternal weaning weight (MWT), 14.7 stay ability, 12.0 docility, 24.7 carcase weight (CWT), 0.93 rib eye area (REA), -0.091 fat, 0.0 marbling and -0.46 yield grade (YG), which rank it in the top 15 per cent of the breed for MWT and milk and top 30pc for REA and YG.
Mr Hann said they have bought two other Black Simmental bulls from Naracoopa in the previous three years and they had worked really well, so they were confident this bull will also add something to their herd.
"We will use him over our Black Simmental stud cows and some Simmental-Angus cross cows from our commercial herd," he said.
Currently the Hanns are running 50 Black Simmental and 40 traditional stud cows, which calve from mid-February to breed bulls for their own use.
They also run a 300 head commercial breeding herd which comprises Simmental, Angus and Simmental-Angus cross cows which start calving at the end of February.
This year the Hanns have kept 72 replacement heifers for their stud and commercial breeding herds.
The Hanns have already sold all their 2023-drop steers to a feedlot earlier in January, while their excess heifers went to the same feedlot this week.
Angus
The Angus breed led the sale this year and in this section two vendors combined to offer 17 bulls.
By the end of the run 14 were headed to new homes to a top of $8000 twice and an average of $6071, which was back $1737.
Last year there were 13 Angus bulls offered and sold by three vendors to a top of $14,500 and an average of $7808.
Leading the charge in the Angus run, offering the largest team and also selling the two $8000 top-priced bulls was the Pratt family's Ballawinna stud, Albany.
In the run Ballawinna offered 12 bulls and sold 11 under the hammer at an average of $6136, back from $7938 last year when it offered and sold eight bulls.
Achieving the $8000 top price tag in the Ballawinna offering were Ballawinna Paratrooper T44 and Ballawinna Whitlock T67 which were both knocked down to MI & DM Twentyman, Goode Beach.
Paratrooper T44, is by Millah Murrah Paratrooper P15 and ranks in the 10pc of the breed for calving ease direct and top 20pc for BWT, CWT and rump fat, while Whitlock T67 is by Coonamble Q209 and is in the top 5pc for calving ease daughters and leg angle and top 20pc for mature cow weight and docility.
The next price in the Ballawinna offering was $6500.
The Ravenhill family, Trevelys Pty Ltd, Denmark, paid it twice for two Coonamble Q131 sons which are both in the top 10pc for gestation length.
Sweet Valley Produce, Elleker and LN & JP Black, Albany, also secured Ballawinna bulls at $6500.
The Blacks paid $6500 for a Coonamble Q209 son, which is in the top 5-11pc for 200, 400 and 600-day weights.
They also purchased a second Ballawinna bull at $5000.
The Sweet Valley Produce bull was a son of Coonamble Q131 which ranks in the top 5pc for calving ease, gestation length, BWT, days to calving, scrotal size, rib fat and rump fat.
The Gatti family, L & C Gatti, Redmond, was the volume buyer in the Ballawinna team, securing three bulls.
The Gattis purchased a Coonamble Q508 son which is in the top 7pc for rib fat and top 11pc for rump fat for $5500 and two ET-bred full brothers by Myers Fair-N-Square M39 and out of Coonamble G117 both at $5000.
The other vendor in the Angus run was Greg Brown, Ponderosa stud, Albany.
Mr Brown offered five bulls and sold three under the hammer to a top of $7000 and an average of $5833, back from $7875 last year.
Topping the Ponderosa team at $7000 was Ponderosa Patriot T21 when it was sold to JW & DR Burton, Hazelvale.
The 814kg Patriot T21 is by Ponderosa Patriot Q2 and ranks in the top 5pc for 600-day weight and top 10pc for 400-day weight, mature cow weight, milk and CWT.
Another Patriot Q2 son, Ponderosa Patriot T36 also attracted the interest of buyers selling at $5500 to
A Kranendonk, Denmark, while Ponderosa Quixote T7, which is by Millah Murrah Quixote Q96 sold at $5000 to B Berry, Tingledale.
Red Angus
The Red Angus bulls were the second offered in the line-up and they were the only breed to achieve a 100pc clearance.
Regular vendors Graeme and Trevlyn Smith, Kildarra stud, Forest Hill, offered and sold six bulls in the line-up to a top of $7500 and an average of $6000, which was back just $100 on last year.
Kildarra's second bull in lot 21, Kildarra Twisticals T5 (TW) took the $7500 top price honours in the run when it sold to first time buyers to the stud and the breed, the Ravenhill family, Trevelys Pty Ltd, which runs 450 breeders.
The late February 2022-drop, twin-born 798kg bull is by Willandra Krugerrand K91 and out of Kildarra Red Tinkerbell N5, which is a daughter of Bolton Girls Grenade.
Twisticals has EBVs of +3.4 for BWT, +28, +43 and +63 for 200, 400 and 600-day weights, +38 CWT, +1.6 EMA, -0.4 rib fat, -0.7 rump fat and +0.1 IMF.
Also to the Ravenhill's paddocks was the long, deep, Kildarra Twenty One T17 (AI) which they purchased at $7000.
The March 2022-drop, AI-bred bull is by Black Market Red Jack M201 and has EBVs of +33, +52 and +61 for 200, 400 and 600-day weight, +44 CWT, 0.0 rib fat, -0.1 rump fat and +0.7 IMF.
Buyer Kim Ravenhill said both bulls he purchased for the family's enterprise were nice and soft and had good muscling.
"They are the first Red Angus bulls we have purchased and we will use them over Angus cows, so I will be interested to see how they go," Mr Ravenhill said.
Another multiple buyer of Kildarra bulls was DW Pilkington, Palmdale and Green Range, which purchased three bulls all at $5000, while Yilgarna, Denmark, paid $6500 for a Milwillah Marble Bar J53 son, Kildarra Time Traveller T8 (AI), which had growth EBVs of +34, +54 and +71 for 200, 400 and 600-day weights.
Limousin
Limousins sires from Kevin Beal's Shannalea Limousin stud, Torbay, were the first European bulls into the ring.
This year Mr Beal offered two apricot and three black and sold one apricot and two blacks under the hammer to a high of $5500 and an average of $5167.
Claiming the $5500 top price in the Shannalea offering was black bull Shannalea Tom Cat T212 when it was knocked down to Pirate's Trust, Albany.
The June 2022-drop, homozygous polled, 748kg sire is by Shannalea Rythm and out of Shannalea Wisteria Lane N13.
Along with being easy on the eye, showing good muscling and softness, Tom Cat has a balanced set of EBVs where it ranks in the top 10pc of the breed for 400-day weight (+47) and top 15pc 200-day weight (+26) as well as top 20pc for 600-day weight (+61) and milk (+10).
The other black Shannalea bull to find a new home was Shannalea Tiago T222 and it sold to KD & KL Tognela, Stake Hill,
The September 2022-drop, 682kg Tiago is by Goldstein Park Rockstar and ranks in the top 5pc for docility and top 10pc for 200 and 400-day weights.
The only apricot coloured Shannalea bull to sell was Shannalea Total Impact T206 and it made $5000 selling to a locally based buyer operating on AuctionsPlus.
The 804kg Total Impact T206 which is a son of Greenwood Curve Ball, had raw scans of 9mm for P8 fat, 7mm for rib fat and an EMA of 118cm2.
In terms of its EBVs it ranks in the top 5pc for EMA and top 10pc for 200, 400 and 600-day weights.
Charolais
The Charolais were next into the ring and like years gone by it was Doug and Dani Giles, Quicksilver stud, Newdegate and Narrikup, who represented the breed.
The Giles offered eight bulls in the line-up and sold four under the hammer to a top of $10,000 and an average of $6375, which was up $18 on last year.
In last year's sale the Giles offered nine bulls and sold seven at a $6357 average and to a top of $9500.
The stud's $10,000 top was achieved when the Yost family, Liberty stud, Toodyay, had the final bid on the April 2022-drop, polled Quicksilver Trigger T20E (AI) (P).
Kevin Yost said they didn't specifically go to the sale with the intention of buying a bull but they were always on the lookout for new stud sires when they present.
"When we saw this bull when we got to the sale we thought he would complement our herd, so we decided we would have a go at buying him," Mr Yost said.
"He has good overall balance, good muscle and bone as well as a nice sire's head plus a good hooded eye.
"He also had good raw data which matches up with our herd.
"He will also be an outcross bloodline for our herd but we think he will complement our cows really well, so we are looking forward to seeing what he will throw."
The 814kg bull is AI-bred by SCR Triumph 2135 (P) and out of Quicksilver Ninette Q50 (P).
It had raw scans of 138cm2 EMA, 9mm P8 fat, 6mm rib fat and 5.1 IMF while it had EBVs for growth of +15, +24 and +32 for 200, 400 and 600-day weights.
Losing bidders on the top-priced Quicksilver sire was the Ayres family, Graham Ayres Livestock, Bornholm, which was the top-priced buyer last year in the Quicksilver run.
While they didn't go home with the top-priced bull this year, they went home with another bull from the Quicksilver team when they picked up the 780kg Quicksilver Topside T29E (AI) (P), which was also a son of SCR Triumph 2135 (P) for $5000.
The other two bulls to sell in the Quicksilver offering, Quicksilver Tanker T30E and Quicksilver Titan T28 (AI) (P) were both purchased by SJ Panizza Family Trust, Albany.
Simmental/Black Simmental
The Simmental/Black Simmental breed not only recorded the day's top price when a Black Simmental sire sold for $14,500, it was also the largest breed in terms of numbers offered and sold and it recorded the best average of any breed.
All up there were 20 traditional and Black Simmentals offered by two studs at the end of the catalogue and by the end of the offering 17 were headed to new pastures at an average of $6941, which was back $2626 on last year's sale.
In last year's sale the same two vendors sold 15 bulls from 16 offered at an average of $9567 and to a top of $19,500.
As previously mentioned Kevin and Janice Hard's Naracoopa stud, sold the sale's $14,500 top-priced bull from this section of the catalogue.
It wasn't the only bull they had in the sale or the only one which sold for more than $10,000.
All up they offered 14 traditional and black sires and sold 13 of them for an average of $7385, which was the highest average achieved by any stud.
Not far behind the Hard's top-priced sire and selling for the day's second top price of $10,500, were two traditional bulls from Naracoopa.
The stud's first traditional bull to hit the $10,500 mark was Naracoopa Tattoo T031 (P) when it was sold to Wells & Dufall, Denmark.
The 768kg, Tattoo T031 is by Tullamore Park Quoll, which is a son of Willandra Kingston, and out of Naracoopa Ruby.
Along with being easy on the eye, expressing good length and depth, Tattoo ranks in top 5pc of the breed for docility with an EPD of 13.8 while it is in the top 15pc for stay ability with an EPD of 17.2.
Tattoo wasn't the only bull headed to the Denmark-based enterprise, as it also picked up a second traditional bull Naracoopa Titanic T024 (P) from the stud for $7500.
The 800kg, dark red Mubarn Quantum son ranks in the top 10pc for CE as well as top 20pc for MCE and marbling.
The other bull in the Naracoopa team to sell at $10,500 was a traditional sire named Naracoopa Trojan T007 (P) (TW) and it was purchased by return buyer Ross Thornton, R & P Thornton, Denmark.
The twin born, 772kg Trojan is by Tullamore Park Quoll and out of Naracoopa Megan.
It ranks in the top 5pc for docility, top 15pc for CWT and stay ability, plus top 25pc for fat.
Other buyers of traditional Simmental bulls from Naracoopa were regular buyer Thornton Farms, Denmark, which paid $7500 for the 746kg twin brother of Trojan T007, Naracoopa Tella T008 (P) (TW), while EA Maxton & Sons, Albany, collected a 770kg Mubarn Quantum son, Naracoopa Twister T006 (P) for $6000.
Along with selling Trusty T033, Naracoopa also sold another three Black Simmental sires to finish with an average of $8375 over the four black bulls it offered and sold.
The next best price for the stud's black bulls was $7500 bid by William Bay Farms, Denmark, for the 814kg polled black bull, Naracoopa Ti T023 (P) (B).
Ti T023 is by Woonallee Moonshine and is in the top 4pc for YG and top 30pc for REA.
The stud's other two black bulls sold at $6500 to BDT & RJ Vigus, Denmark and at $5000 to David C Wright, Denmark.
The WA College of Agriculture - Denmark, Inlet Views stud, was the other vendor of Simmental bulls and it offered six traditional sires and sold four of them under the hammer to a high of $7000 and an average of $5500.
Taking top price honours for the stud at $7000 was its third bull Inlet Views Titanic T099 in lot 56 when it was purchased by return buyers Les and Anna Wolfe, LE & AG Wolfe, Youngs Siding.
The 842kg, dark red, well-fleshed bull is by FGAF Guerrero 810Y and out of Inlet Views Nicki N014, which is by Anchor T Legend 7H.
Titanic T099 is in the top 15pc of the breed for docility, top 20pc for CE and YG as well as top 25pc for BWT and MCE.
Along with securing Titanic T099 from the college, the Wolfes also picked up Inlet Views Tornado T025 for $5000.
The 908kg Mubarn Quinn (PP) son ranks in the top 20pc for WWT, YWT and fat.
Mr Wolfe said they had purchased a number of bulls from the college in the past and they have been very happy with them.
"All their bulls have good temperaments, are well-bred and have good depth," Mr Wolfe said.
The Wolfes run 180 Angus-Friesian breeders and these bulls will join their Simmental sire battery which is used in the herd.
Their aim is to turn off all their calves as vealers straight to Woolworths.
The other two Inlet Views bulls to sell both went at $5000 to Wells & Dufall and JW & DR Burton, Hazelvale.
