Gandy Angus yearling sale tops $12,500

It was the stud's second annual yearling bull sale after increased demand for yearling bulls privately saw the Gandy family host a successful first standalone yearling bull sale last year.

Sale summary

(Under the hammer results)

Gandy Angus stud principals Kim and Lex Gandy and their team presented an outstanding sale team of 68 well-grown and bred yearling bulls packed with new and proven genetics and, along with greater numbers from last year, gave buyers plenty of options when making their selections.

There was a strong crowd in attendance, with 44 buyers registering at the sale - mainly from the South West and further afield to Esperance and the Great Southern.

The AuctionsPlus interfaced sale generated plenty of interest online, with 2124 online catalogue views seeing 75 users logged into the sale with three bulls selling to an online Esperance buyer.

But the State's beef producers are desperately looking to the horizon for season breaking rains, with feed and water reserves a growing concern for many farmers.

Combined with a stagnant beef market, in general, bull buyers have become increasingly conscious of their spending this bull selling season and this sale was no exception.

The Gandys only sold one less bull at auction compared to last year's sale but, without the same level of competition and with a greater number of bulls on offer, values took a hit - with buyers becoming increasingly selective as the sale wore on.

At the completion of selling, the Elders South West team led by auctioneer and Elders stud stock manager Nathan King, sold 49 bulls under the hammer (72 per cent) for an average of $6388.

This was back $3972 on last year's sale average where 50 of 51 bulls sold at auction for an average of $10,360.

The sale's $12,500 top price eventuated in lot 11 with Brad McDonnell, Elders Manjimup/Pemberton, supporting clients Shane and Courtney Blakers, CT Blakers, Manjimup, agreeing to the winning bid to secure the services of Gandy Three Rivers U83 (AI).

The 650kg mid-February 2023 drop bull was AI-bred by USA sire Ellingson Three Rivers 8062 and was out of a Baldridge Bronc daughter Diamond One Bronc P32.

The young bull matched his eye catching phenotype with an explosive set of performance figures which included top 1pc for all three weight intervals, carcase weight (CW) and eye muscle area (EMA), top 3pc gestation length (GL), retail beef yield (RBY) and both $A and $A-L selection indexes, top 5pc mature cow weight (MCW), top 7pc net feed efficiency (NFI-F), top 13pc milk and strong structural traits.

The Blakers added a further two bulls to their account, sons of USA Mill Brae Benchmark 9016 and Texas Iceman R725 at good value.

After selling off breeding females in favour of running steers 10-15 years ago, the Blakers family has expanded their land holding and made the decision to get back into breeding cattle.

They purchased 70 mated Angus heifers at sales earlier this year from well-known producers Treeton Lake, Monterey and the Waugh family, which have mostly calved from late March and will be joined to the three Gandy Angus bulls to calve again in March next year.

Mr Blakers said the Gandy Angus bulls were highly recommended by Mr McDonnell and were purchased on his advice.

He said they wanted to move forward with quality cattle and he selected good bulls to go with their top heifers.

Mr McDonnell remained busy throughout the sale, filling a number of orders for his clients, including four bulls on behalf of A & AE Walker, Northcliffe, and two bulls for TJ & MB Waugh, Manjimup.

The sale's $12,000 second top price was bid for Gandy Stellar U292 in lot seven by David Lindberg, Elders Albany, on behalf of his client Tony Perrella, A & G Perrella, Albany.

The powerful 672kg 7.0 frame score bull was born mid-March 2023 to a Sitz Stellar son - Gandy Stellar S195 - and was out of a Diamond One Weigh Up dam.

While not overly extreme for any traits, the bull recorded a strong spread of performance, with growth in the top 7-12pc for all weight intervals, top 15pc MCW, top 14pc CW, top 28pc milk and top 29pc RBY with good fats and structure.

Mr Lindberg said he really liked the bull for its good figures, feet, conformation and type.

"The Perrallas have big deep body cows and this bull suits their program nicely," Mr Lindberg said.

Mr Lindberg said the Perrella's Angus herd calves from mid-March to April, with offspring weaned and backgrounded until late February when they were sold privately.

"The calves go into a grass finishing program and every year the same buyers come back to buy their calves, they really like the Angus cattle the Perrellas breed," he said.

He also purchased three bulls on behalf of Gilnochie Pty Ltd, Albany, paying to $8000 twice for sons of Millah Murrah Rocket Man R38 and Mill Brae Benchmark.

The Esperance buyer operating on AuctionsPlus finished with three bulls to its account and paid to the sale's $10,500 third top price for Gandy Benchmark U170 catalogued in lot four.

The late February born bull was AI-bred by USA sire Mill Brae Benchmark 9016 and out of a first calving heifer - Gandy Beast Mode S167.

The Gandys had equally high wraps for the classy youngster and collected semen for their own use within the stud.

Its growth and index performance was off the charts ranking in the breed's top 1pc for all weight intervals and both selection indexes, top 2pc MCW, top 5pc EMA and NFI-F, top 7pc CW and RBY with top 15pc docility.

This buyer went on to pay $9500 for another Mill Brae Benchmark son with similar maternal breeding and $7000 for an AI-bred son of another USA sire - LAR Man In Black.

A Nutrien Livestock account, also from the Esperance region, collected four bulls at the sale paying from $5000 to the sale's next highest value of $10,000 for Gandy Iceman U351.

The stretchy soft bull was next in line in lot five with the late March 2023 born bull by Texas Iceman R725 and a Diamond One Generation dam Q236.

This was another bull with exceptional performance across a swag of traits for a moderate birthweight and calving ease (top 22pc) bull ranking in the top 10-22pc for all weight intervals, top 4pc RBY, top 15-17pc selection indexes, top 13pc CW, top 15pc EMA and top 14pc docility.

This account's next highest price of $8500 was paid for a 612kg low birthweight Millah Murrah Rocket Man R38 son.

With an account totalling nine bulls, Alcoa Farmlands, Wagerup/Pinjarra, was the sale's most prominent buyer and managed to fill its requirements at value from $5000 to $6000.

Alcoa Farmlands manager Vaughn Byrd said they had been buying Gandy Angus bulls for the past five years with this year's selection consisting of five bulls suitable for joining to heifers and four mature cow bulls, which will be used accordingly over 20-25 females each.

"These are well presented cattle with excellent temperament," Mr Byrd said.

"Great weight for age and desirable phenotypes backed up with a good mix of data.

"And we are seeing longevity in the Gandy Angus bulls.

"They are tough and not breaking down."

Alcoa Farmlands will join 4000 Angus breeders to Angus and Black Simmental bulls with heifers calving from mid-April followed by the cows.

Original Gandy Angus stud clients Les and Tim Prosser, FR & LF Prosser, Scott River, purchased three bulls at good value, while Plunkett Properties, Point Grey, finished with two bulls paying to a $9500 top price for sale team leader Gandy Benchmark U127, a 650kg AI-bred mid-February 2023 born bull by Mill Brae Benchmark 9016 and heifer Gandy Moe S260.

The powerful bull recorded curve bending performance from its low birthweight (top 21pc) and calving ease (top 27pc) ranking in the top 1-2pc for selection indexes, top 1pc milk, top 10-11pc weight intervals, top 8pc days to calving, top 12pc EMA, top 16pc CW and top 27pc NFI-F.