Angus studs mark milestones with top spring bull sales

As two well known beef studs celebrate significant anniversaries with rising bull sale averages, The Weekly Times has developed a searchable, up-to-date database of this season’s sales. Use it to plan the rest of your season.

Harry Lawson, at Lawsons Angus, Yea, where 77 bulls averaged $8584.

TWO well-known studs marked 50 years last week, with averages rising for both.

Lawsons Angus marked its half century with their spring bull sale topping at $52,000 last week.

The stud sold 77 bulls of the 78 offered for an average of $8585. Of the 78 bulls, 58 were sold on-property at Harry and Ruth Lawson’s stud in Yea and averaged $9431.

A further 19 yearling bulls were sold online from the Lawsons blood co-operative herd running at Boorowa, NSW, owned by Vince Rheinberger. They averaged $6000.

The top-priced bull, Lawsons Miraculous, sold for $36,000 more than the second top-priced bull Lawsons Momentum, which fetched $16,000, bought by Weeran Angus at Byaduk.

The $52,000 topper was sired by Lawsons Momentous and ranked in the top 1 per cent of the Angus breed for EMA at 17.5 and in the top 4 per cent for IMF, with a figure of 3.3.

The 18-month-old bull had been tested through the Lawsons feed efficiency program where it was noted as being above average for feed conversion and net feed intake.

TRT Pastoral Company, Mansfield, took home the top-priced bull alongside nine other bulls they bought on the day for an average of $14,600.

Tim Roberts-Thomson and his family from TRT Pastoral were repeat buyers at the Lawsons sale and use predominantly Lawson, Landfall and Te Mania blood in their cattle production.

“That top bull will go into our heifer AI program on both King Island and our North East Victoria properties,” Tim said.

TRT Pastoral this year is running a combined 3000 heifers across their properties that will go mainly into feedlots.

Also celebrating a 50-year anniversary was The Glen Angus stud at Walwa, which held its 50th on-property sale last week.

The Glen sold 56 of 60 bulls offered, to a top of $14,500 and average of $6580, surpassing their 2019 average of $5400 by more than $1000.

After battling with bushfires earlier this year stud principals Mike and Joy Gadd were pleased with the sale result.

“Considering 75 per cent of our property was burnt in the December/January bushfires, we consider ourselves fortunate to have been able to conduct the sale,” Mike said.

“It is hard to believe that only nine months ago our business, livestock and property were in survival mode and that we have recovered so quickly.”

The catalogue included five Angus-infused grey bulls which auctioned to a top of $11,00, and averaged $7500.

Meanwhile, averages also increased for newer studs. In its fourth on-farm sale, The Rock Angus, NSW, averaged $7258 for 18 bulls, a lift of $1671 on the year prior.

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