Solid prices and clearance at Mordallup sale

The Muirs presented a top line of 66 well-grown yearling bulls, featuring new bloodlines as well as proven ones from a number of homebred sires - receiving plenty of positive comment from buyers.

As a result of the excellent presentation of bulls and the genetics behind them, return buyers who know the performance of the bloodline and a handful of new ones, who were keen to inject the bloodline into their herds, pushed prices to a sale high of $19,000 and an 86 per cent clearing rate.

Like other sales this year, seasonal and market conditions dampened the bidding enthusiasm of buyers throughout the auction as they watched budgets closely in terms of both values spent and number of bulls purchased.

This meant it wasn't all easy sailing for the Nutrien Livestock selling team, led by auctioneer Tiny Holly, compared to the past two years where the stud had achieved its best ever results.

SALE SUMMARY

When the final bull left the ring following just under one and a half hours of selling, the Muirs had cleared 57 of 66 bulls offered to 27 different buyers, seven less than last year, for an average of $7211, which was back $5113.

Last year's sale offered 72 bulls and sold 71 to 34 buyers to a top of $30,000 and an average of $12,324, after four bulls sold for $25,000.

Mr Holly said the Muir family presented a quality line-up of yearling bulls which was appreciated by buyers.

"It was an excellent presentation of young bulls which are ready to go to work," Mr Holly said.

"The team at Mordallup should be praised for the line-up of bulls as they continue to offer a product in demand locally and also support from eastern seaboard clients.

"While the average was back on last year it was still an excellent average this year under the seasonal and market conditions.

"Although we lacked real highs of last year's sale and the average was back, I still think it was a good sale as most of the bulls changed hands for an excellent clearance, which is the nature of the game."

Leading the charge was Mordallup Nabajup U239 in lot 13, when it sold for the day's $19,000.

When the stylish, free-moving, 658 kilogram, youngster entered the ring, buyers were quick to notice and gave Mr Holly an opening bid of $12,000.

From there a number of interested parties chased the smooth and soft skinned bull before it was finally knocked down to return buyer Vern Mouritz, VR & ET Mouritz, Hydillowah Angus, Hyden.

Mr Mouritz said Nabajup U239 was one of his first picks in the team.

"He is a good all round bull with a balanced set of figures," Mr Mouritz said.

"He has lovely, soft skin and a very good temperament.

"He also has very good conformation to help further improve our herd."

The mid-March 2023-drop bull is a son of Mordallup Bakadjoo P40, which is by Mordallup Moorook L141 and out of a Mordallup Thunder H131 daughter, Mordallup Beauty P270.

Along with being impressive on the eye, Nabajup U239, also had a safe set of estimated breeding values (EBVs) including -1.0 for calving ease direct, +5.2 for calving ease daughters, -0.9 gestation length (GL), +7.6 birthweight (BWT), +54, +88 and +114 for 200, 400 and 600-day weights, +102 mature cow weight (MCW), +17 milk, +1.2 scrotal size (SS), -6.3 days to calving (DTC), +77 carcase weight (CWT), +7.4 EMA, -2.8 rib fat, -2.3 P8 fat, +1.8 retail beef yield (RBY), -0.8 IMF, +0.01 feed efficiency (NFI-F) and +12 docility (DOC).

With these figures Nabajup U239 ranks in the top 3pc for RBY and top 11pc for DTC as well as top 20-30pc for calving ease daughters, CWT and NFI-F.

It has index values of +$201 for Angus Breeding and +$344 for the Angus Breeding Low Feed Cost.

Along with buying the top-priced bull, the Mouritz family, which has been buying from Mordallup since the early 1990s, went on to purchase another seven bulls to finish with a team of eight at an average of $12,375 to make them the day's volume buyers.

In the team were another four Bakadjoo P40 sons including one at the sale's $17,000 second top price, two at the sale's $15,000 third top price and one at $10,000.

Mr Mourtiz paid $17,000 for Mordallup Nabajup U165 in lot six, which he said was probably the pick of the bulls in the sale for him.

"He has very good feet and is well-balanced," he said.

"He also has a moderate set of figures."

The 670kg Nabajup U165, which is out a Mordallup Bronc M192 daughter, has EBVs of +3.2 for calving ease direct, +7.4 for calving ease daughters, -4.0 GL, +3.3 BWT, +40, +67 and +90 for 200, 400 and 600-day weights, +49 MCW, +23 milk, +0.6 SS, -4.5 DTC, +60 CWT, +8.3 EMA, -0.9 rib fat, -0.4 P8 fat, +1.4 RBY, +1.0 IMF, +0.10 NFI-F and +16 DOC.

With these figures Nabajup U165 ranks in the top 7pc for RBY, top 10pc for calving ease daughters, top 11pc for milk and top 26pc for EMA.

It has index values of +$199 for Angus Breeding and +$301 for the Angus Breeding Low Feed Cost.

Mr Mouritz said the plan would be to use both the top and second top-priced bulls in a synchronised AI-program over a large number of second and third calvers, as well as some older cows which they would pick out after they had calved.

At $15,000 Mr Mouritz secured Mordallup Nabajup U224 from lot five and Mordallup Nabajup U179 from lot nine.

The 668kg, Nabajup U224 is out of a Mordallup Makuru M610 daughter and ranks in the top 7pc for MCW, top 8pc for NFI-F and top 10-20pc for GL, 600-day weight and RBY, while the 678kg, Nabajup NU179 is out of a Mordallup Creed K241 daughter and ranks in the top 1pc for RBY, top 10pc for NFI-F and top 13pc for DOC.

Mr Mouritz's fifth Bakadjoo P40 son at $10,000 was Mordallup Nabajup U146.

It is out of a Mordallup Density J403 daughter and ranks in the top 1pc for rib and rump fat as well as top 15pc for DTC.

Mr Mouritz said he was chasing the Bakadjoo P40 sons because they had them before and they had proven their worth in the family's breeding herd.

"They work well for us in our environment and are good soft and clean skin types, which we want for the feedlot," he said.

"They also breed very good replacement females.

"The line of P40 sons in the sale was very consistent in type which gives us confidence they will perform and breed on."

In addition to the five Bakadjoo P40 sons Mr Mouritz bought, there were another three sold, resulting in the eight selling for an average of $12,000.

Also in Mr Mouritz team at a five figure sum of $13,000 was Mordallup Ammaroo U160 that was catalogued in lot three.

The 686kg bull is by Mordallup Renown P42 and out of a Mordallup Barro F480 daughter.

It ranks in the top 16pc MCW), top 19pc for 200-day weight and top 21pc for 400-day weight.

Mr Mouritz said he purchased Ammaroo U160 to replace an old bull of the same breeding which they use in a single sire mating.

"We like this bloodline as they have a lot of grunt behind them and because they breed a really consistent type of female."

Mr Mouritz said they have continued to buy from Mordallup over such an extended period because they like the depth of body and thickness Mordallup cattle have.

"Their female herd is probably one of the best in Australia, it is extremely consistent and as a result their bulls breed top replacement females," he said.

"When we get their bulls home they acclimatise to our conditions and perform extremely well in our breeding herd of more than 1000 females producing calves that perform extremely well in our feedlot.

"It's this performance which encourages us to continue to buy from the Muir and also buy top bulls from the line-up.

"We can certainly see the value in investing in good genetics as we know they will improve the performance of our herd in the long run."

The fourth top price for the day was $14,000 and it was paid by Mark and Peta-Jane Harris, Treeton Lake, Cowaramup and Dardanup, when they had the final bid with the support of Nutrien Livestock Boyanup/Capel agent Chris Waddingham, on the 662kg Mordallup Titan U161 in lot two.

Titan U161 was the first son of Brookwood Titan J32 to be offered in WA and it showed off plenty of depth, length and shape in the ring.

The AI-bred, early March 2023-drop calf, which is out of a Mordallup Renown P42 daughter, ranks in the top 10pc for MCW, NFI-F and RBY as well as top 11-20pc for 200 and 400-day weights and SS.

Mr Waddingham said Titan U161 was a nice, big, growthy bull with good style.

"He is a neat package all the way through," Mr Waddingham said.

"He has a beautiful, strong Angus head, neat shoulders, good length and impressive depth of body.

"He also has very good muscling right through his hindquarter and down into his flank."

Mr Waddinghan said while the bull would be a new bloodline for the Treeton Lake herd, it would complement the Harris family's breeding program and current sire battery.

Also heading to the Harris family's property at $5000 was a Mordallup Stunner R73 son that is in the top 5pc for milk and top 6-10pc for NFI-F and 600-day weight.

Rounding out the buyers to purchase a bull at $10,000 or more was Gandy Timbers, Manjimup, which secured Mordallup Dream-Man U47 in lot 34 for $10,000.

The AI-bred bull is by Premier Guardian J12 and out of a Varilek Geddes 7068 daughter, Mordallup Rainy S13.

It ranks in the top 4pc for milk and top 15-20pc for calving ease direct, DOC and RBY.

Also on the Gandy Timbers' account $5000 was a Mordallup Black Onyx Q39 son.

Kevin Owen, Tomasi Grazing, Karridale, who bid with the assistance of Nutrien Livestock Margaret River/Busselton agent Jock Embry and Nutrien Livestock, Bridgetown agent Ben Cooper, were two of the most active buyers in the sale behind Mr Mouritz, securing a number of bulls for different accounts.

Mr Owen purchased three bulls to a top of $6000 and an average of $5333 for Tomasi Grazing.

But his purchases didn't stop there as he held bidding cards for two Victorian buyers.

He purchased five bulls to a top of $8000 and an average of $5800 for the fifth year buyers the Marriott family, Murroka Pty Ltd, South Gippsland, who run an Angus and Angus cross breeding herd and a single sire at $5000 for D Pilkington & F Toohey, Sandy Point.

Mr Cooper purchased eight bulls for three different accounts.

He picked up two for Emu Hill Pastoral, Narembeen, both at $5000 and two for JD & S Karafilis & Son, Bridgetown, at $6000 and $5000.

Mr Cooper said for these two clients he was looking for bulls suitable to breed calves for the feedlot market.

For his third client based at Bridgetown, he purchased three bulls and for this account he was chasing the well-known Mordallup bloodlines of Bakadjoo P40 and Renown P42.

He paid $9000 for a Bakadjoo P40 son while his other two purchases were Renown P42 sons at $7000 and $5000.

Regular buyers Geoff Kielman, Lilyvale Grazing Pty Ltd, Pinjarra and Marc Ross, Lanstal Pty Ltd, Pinjarra, were again active, purchasing three bulls each.

Mr Kielman averaged $7000 across his team of three which topped at $8000 twice.

At $8000 Mr Kielman secured a Mordallup Skydiver Q405 son that ranks in the top 1pc for MCW and top 5-10pc for 200, 400 and 600-day weights, RBY and NFI-F and a Mordallup Stunner R73 son that is in the top 3pc for NFI-F and top 5-10pc for MCW and RBY.

The Lanstal team averaged $5667 and topped at $7000 for a Mordallup Stunner R73 son which is in the top 10pc for DOC.

Before the bulls entered the ring the sale kicked off with a very special lot.

It was a signed Sir Donald Bradman cricket bat and it sold for $14,000 to Terry and Lynne Bell and family, M & AJ Bell Farms Pty Ltd and Bell Pasture Seeds, The Plains, Boyanup.

The proceeds from the sale of the bat, which was donated by Nutrien Livestock Boyanup/Capel agent Chris Waddingham and family, are going to Dolly's Dream as part of the Nutrien Ag Solutions Bunbury branch's Do It For Dolly Day fundraiser.

Mr Holly said the presale offering of the donated Sir Don Bradman signed cricket bat was also a great decision and with the proceeds going to such a great and worthy charity.

"Dolly's Dream is a charity that has a strong message and one that we need to continue to support especially in the rural sector and the businesses we are involved in," Mr Holly said.