Gommers family Mandayen Limousin and Angus bulls in demand

Strong demand for Euro and Euro-cross cattle at the New Year calf sales has raised hopes for a good bull selling season at Mandayen Limousin and Angus stud.

Mandayen Limousin and Angus stud breeder Damian Gommers.

The depressed state of the cattle market late last year had the Gommers family from Mandayen Limousin and Angus stud at Keith, South Australia, concerned about the upcoming bull selling season but their hopes have lifted in the past few weeks.

“We didn’t know what to expect two to three months ago but heading into this year with the way the market changed so rapidly, it is great to see the rise in prices,” stud principal Damian Gommers said.

“There is a lot more confidence in the last six to eight weeks and we hope to see more positivity going into the bull sales.”

At Mandayen’s annual sale last year, 30 Limousin bulls reached a top of $31,000 twice and averaged $12,800, and 75 Angus bulls topped at $28,000 and averaged $13,700.

Damian, who farms with wife Mandy and their three children, isn’t expecting to see such highs this autumn but remains hopeful, buoyed by the strong prices paid for European and European-cross cattle at the Western District calf sales in early January, including drafts with Mandayen genetics.

“It’s good to see our genetics are doing a great job for our clients and those clients are getting rewarded for the hard work they are putting in,” Damian said.

“A lot of repeat clients (at the calf sales) are coming back and buying their cattle each year so they must be performing.”

Established 29 years ago, Mandayen had one of the biggest Limousin breeding herds in Australia and continues to be one of the most successful with bull prices consistently topping sales around the country.

Ten years ago, the Gommers diversified their operation and began breeding Angus cattle to help meet client and industry demand and Angus now make up a bigger portion of the enterprise.

There are 140 Limousin breeding cows and 450 purebred Angus cows.

The Angus herd is predominantly based on Millah Murrah bloodlines and a portion of Coolana Angus.

“We focused on a stud we wanted to build on and Millah Murrah has been a leader at the forefront of the industry so it gave us a great female foundation,” Damian said.

The majority of Mandayen clients are local to South Australia but bulls are sold to Victoria, NSW and Queensland.

“We try to breed a good, functional well-structured Angus with plenty of muscle but still having that softness and maternal side too with good milk and fertility,” Damian said.

“Our clients supply domestic markets, backgrounders as well as feedlots and that is the good thing about Angus, they are versatile and can be used in such a wide variety of markets.

“The Limousins are a little different and are more suited to the vealer market or supermarket trade – that is where a lot of clients market their cattle and most are straight off their mum as a milk calf.”

The Mandayen Limousin genetics were originally founded on Wulfs Limousins in the United States and with the purchase of the Ramornie Limousin herd at Holbrook, NSW, to help increase numbers.

“They have been good, honest cattle and the right type. We try to outsource genetics each year but it is getting more difficult to find them due to a decrease in breeding herds,” Damian said.

When selecting cattle, Damian said structure and temperament came first, followed by phenotype, muscle and softness. The Gommers were also mindful of birth weight while keeping an above average growth rate, and focused on scrotal and carcass Estimated Breeding Values, particularly eye muscle area.

The breeding herds are both AI’d, followed by mop up bulls, and are run in separate mobs with Limousins calving in May-June and Angus in spring. An ET program is also run with 150 recipient cows.

Depending on seasonal conditions, weaning is conducted in December-January for the Limousin calves, and Angus in March.

The Gommers conduct cereal cropping on their 2400ha property, producing all their own hay and silage as well as 80 per cent of the grain required for their small on-farm feedlot.

The feedlot, based on the family’s Murray Bridge property, is used for commercial cattle, supplying 2200 head a year to Woolworths weighing 550-600kg liveweight.

“Our progeny that don’t make the grade and cull heifers go back through the feedlot and we sometimes get clients cattle back here too,” Damian said.

“You can see the cattle are performing. If there is a sire there that you don’t like the type, muscle or structure, you can veer away from it.

“We are always looking to identify cattle with the genetic potential to improve the bottom line profitability of our client’s beef businesses.”