Average up as stud runs out of bulls

It was a result no one was expecting, as vendors at a bull sale in northeast Victoria today fully cleared stocks and bumped the average price.

A lift in average and a total clearance were surprise results at the Rangan Charolais sale near Charleroi today.

While many European breed sales have failed to sell all bulls offered and averages had been down, the Cook family’s offering of Charolais bulls bucked the trend to average $9447 with a total clearance.

Nutrien auctioneer Peter Godbolt (centre) takes bids while Wade Ivone from Nutrien Ivone Agencies and Rangan principal Graeme Cook look on at the Rangan Charolais sale today.

Rangan principal Graeme Cook said the result was overwhelming, given the tough results seen for other studs.

“We offered a few less bulls as we wanted to offer an even line of sires,” Mr Cook said.

“But immediately after the sale, we’ve had people coming wanting to buy because they missed out at auction, and that is really rewarding.”

Some of the big crowd which watched as Rangan Charolais average was up $1000 to almost $9500 at the stud's sale today near Charleroi.

The sale’s top price bull went to a bid on Auctionsplus for $22,000, paid for Rangan Quartermaster S145, a 20-month-old homozygous bull which had Breedplan figures in the top 10 per cent of the breed for gestation length, 600-day weight, milk, eye muscle area, rump fat and intramuscular fat.

The bull weighed 814kg, and had raw scans of 134 cm for eye muscle area and 4.5 per cent IMF.

Peter and Sharon Wallis from Gundowring with the Rangan Charolais bull they bought for $16,000 at the Rangan Charolais sale at Charleroi.

Next best was $16,000 paid by Peter and Sharon Wallis, from Gundowring, repeat buyers for Rangan, who Rangan Quarterback S128, a 20-month-old, a 796-kilogram bull.

Mr Wallis said the bull would be used in their small Shiralee Charolais stud herd, as well as over their commercial Angus cows.

“This bull ticked the boxes and for us, those top boxes are temperament and being homozygous,” Mr Wallis said.

“He had great eye appeal, beautiful feet, and his figures were in the range we were looking for.”

The strength of the bidding – 13 bulls or more than a third of the catalogue made $10,000 or more – meant some potential buyers were hard pressed to get sires.

This was despite the cheaper cattle prices and the drop in the Eastern Young Cattle Indicator over the past couple of months.

Ray and Adele James from Finley, NSW, paid $7500 for their first bull bought from Rangan Charolais sale near Charleroi.

They included Ray and Adele James from Finley, who had to wait until the last bull to be offered to fill their requirements. The James were first time clients at Rangan.

Mrs James said they were looking for bulls that had good figures for calving ease of their daughters, as they would retain the female progeny of their cross.

The bull they bought for $7500 will be used in the herd of Senepol-Red Angus cows to produce vealers.

Bulls predominantly went to buyers from across southern NSW and Victoria.