Bulls to $103,000 and average up 60 per cent for Herefords

If there was any doubt Herefords are gaining momentum, it has been dispelled at Wodonga — where bulls have sold to $103,000. RESULTS HERE

Bulls sold to $103,000 at the Hereford National Show and Sale today as buyers spent more than $1 million on whiteface genetics.

The top-priced bull at the Hereford National show and sale, Mawarra If Only Q264, with buyer David Lyons, Melville Park, Melville Forest and vendor Logan Sykes, Mawarra, Longford. Picture: Fiona Myers

The sale averaged $14,475, a 60-per-cent leap on last year’s average price.

Of the 84 bulls offered, 71 sold with a feature the offering of seven sires from Mawarra Genetics at Longford.

Their seven bulls averaged more than $41,000 and included the top price at the fixture, Mawarra If Only Q264.

The bull had breeding leading figures including +6.0 for eye muscle area (breed average 3.6) and +2.8 for intramuscular fat (breed average 0.5).

Buyer David Lyons from Melville Park at Melville Forest said he knew he would need a six-figure sum to buy the bull.

“I liked the softness and the thickness of the bull and his length of body, and he had the figures to go with it,” Mr Lyons said.

“He had excellent milk and growth and his IMF was terrific too.”

The $103,000 bull Mawarra If Only held by Logan Sykes, Mawarra, Longford. Picture: Fiona Myers

Mr Lyons said the bull would now be a key sire in his herd, which produces both horned and polled bulls.

There were concerns the sale format may not suit buyers, with all bulls offered simultaneously on AuctionsPlus and no physical auction of the bulls, but it seemed to have little effect on the results.

The crowd at today’s Hereford national sale. Picture: Fiona Myers

Eleven bulls made $20,000 or more.

The sale averaged $14,475 and grossed $1.049 million.

Last year, 100 of 110 bulls sold for a 91 per cent clearance with a top price of $55,000, an average of $9040 and a gross of $904,000.