Speckle Park bull prices surge as buyers return

Outstanding bull sales from Hereford and Speckle Park studs are overshadowing Angus cattle results.

A Speckle Park bull. Picture: File

COLOURED cattle stole the show throughout last weeks run of bull sales with Angus cattle overshadowed by outstanding sales from Hereford and Speckle Park studs.

JAD Speckle Park stud in Yeoval, NSW pushed their average up a whopping $10,670 from their autumn sale last year where 22 bulls averaged $7591 after suffering the repercussions of the first wave of coronavirus restrictions.

At just their third inaugural sale stud principals Amy and Justin Dicken averaged $18,261 for 23 stud bulls which sold to full clearance last week to buyers from all four states.

The sale also cleared all 12 commercial bulls offered.

“It was extraordinary and way beyond our wildest dreams. There was an incredible atmosphere at the sale which was quite a contrast to last year where we only had 16 people there with the border shutting. We had over 200 people there last Friday,” Ms Dicken said.

The first progeny of renowned Speckle Park NZ sire Maungahina Legacy were offered at the sale with the two bulls returning $24,000 and $16,000 respectively and the two heifers leading the female portion of the sale to top a massive $40,000 in an Australasian record for the breed.

The sale topped at $34,000 twice for two bulls who sold into Ivery Downs Cattle Co at Collington QLD and WV James & Sons at Lucindale, SA.

“Both top price bulls were bought by commercial operations, one was a new client from Queensland and the other from Lucindale has bought with us for the past three years. Their Angus-Speckle Park cross weaners often top the weaner sales in Naracoorte.”

High country stud Karoonda Park Herefords at Gelantipy recorded similarly impressive results selling 56 of 58 Hereford bulls to average $10,344 – up $3552 from last year’s average of $6792. They topped $28,000 for Karoonda Warrigul Q712.

Cluden Newry Angus stud at Longford lead the charge of Tasmanian sales, averaging $9613 for 62 bulls sold to full clearance – up $2713 from last years average.

Stud principal Jock Hughes said the full clearance of the bulls was a highlight of the sale which “exceeded expectations”.

“Heifer bulls and anything with lower birth weights were in strong demand with the restocking effort – that was a big driving factor of the sale,” Mr Hughes said.

The top-priced bull achieved $19,000 and was a son of Clunie Range Legend which Mr Hughes said was the best phenotype bull in the sale with balanced EBVs.

— PETRA OATES

Yankee Queen sets star-spangled price

ANGUS enthusiasts took advantage of the dispersal of one of Australia’s biggest Angus herds spending $2.15 million last week.

Stoney Point Angus at Meningie, South Australia, was rewarded for its commitment to high quality cattle when the first stage of its dispersal averaged $5617 for 383 females.

The sale top of $46,000 for a cow and an impressive $30,000 for a nine-month-old heifer were two of the highlights of the sale which saw cattle sent to stud and commercial operations from South Australia, NSW, Victoria and South Australia.

Stoney Point Stud’s Perry Gunner is retiring.

Stoney Point stud manager Peter Colliver said it was rewarding to see the interest in the herd he managed for Perry Gunner, who was selling it to retire.

The sale’s top price of $46,000 was paid for Stoney Point Yankee Queen M173, a former donor cow for the stud whose mother, grandmother and great grandmother had also been donor cows.

Mr Colliver said the five-year old cow was extremely docile and had good EBVs and sold jointly to the Mandayen Angus stud at Brinkley, South Australia and the Glatz Angus stud at Avenue Range, South Australia.

Another cow, again from the Yankee Queen maternal line, made $41,000 with Stoney Point Yankee Queen M820 described by Mr Colliver as “feminine, with a good top line and good capacity”.

And in a surprise result, a nine-month-old heifer, late in the offering of the two-day sale, made $30,000 selling to Geneflow at Tocumwal, NSW, in partnership with Barnett Angus from Westbury, Tasmania.

Mr Colliver said the young heifer was “a beautiful package with Breedplan indexes in the top 1 per cent of the breed and high carcass and growth figures”.

Earlier in the sale, the mother of the young heifer made $26,000.

Joint buyer Mark Barnett said the heifer would join the Barnett Angus carcass maker embryo program which is based in Geelong.

“Her pedigree is very powerful and comes with a curve bend growth pattern and light mature cow weight,” Mr Barnett said.

“She has an IMF (intramuscular fat) score of 4.1, which is what our program is all about.

“She is from a paternal line and fourth generation of females, all of which have an IMF score of over 3.7.”

Mr Colliver said the stud would hold another dispersal of its females next autumn and would have its final bull sale in 2023.

— FIONA MYERS