Rain and an appetite for good maternal lines leads to total clearance at Banquet Angus
Buyers from across Victoria and Tasmania were chasing strong maternal lines, good growth rates and docility at the Banquet Angus spring bull sale.
Rain overhead, a spark of optimism and buyers’ desire for strong maternal lines has led to a total clearance at a prominent Mortlake stud.
Banquet Angus hosted a full house of buyers amid wet weather for its 32nd annual spring sale. Two millimetres of rain fell during the sale at Mortlake.
The sale offered 31 bulls and had a total clearance to a top price of $26,000, and an average of $12,645.
Last year’s spring bull sale had a total clearance of 32 bulls with a top of $42,000, and an average of $15,531.
The stud’s autumn sale this year topped $230,000, which broke a statewide record at the time.
Buyers of the top price bull Peter and Gerard Ryan, Hawkesdale, said they were chasing line and length for calves.
They manage 300 cattle, and said they had bought enough bulls this season until next spring.
Hamish Branson, Banquet Angus, said he believed confidence was “on the way up”.
“People are still wanting the better genetics, that’s what’s making money in the sales,” Mr Branson said.
“The cow herd is still very important for people, you can’t slack off and let it drop off.”
Campbell Czempinski and Sarah Fahey, Tyers, bought two bulls at the sale and had been buying fom the stud for the past 12 years.
Mr Czempinski said they had a predominantly Banquet-blood herd.
“We bought a more-powerful bull (Lot 12) to put over smaller cows and a more muscly bull (Lot 25) for our bigger, framier cows,” he said.
They are currently managing 150 Angus breeders.
Tom Symons, Ballangeich, bought one bull for his 500-head beef operation, citing “good value for money”, and looked for quiet bulls with good growth rates.
Meanwhile, notable sales this season included Millah Murrah Angus with a top price of $140,000 at its spring sale, which offered and sold 123 bulls, averaging $24,512.
Milwillah Angus had a top price of $140,000, $22,876 average and total clearance of 97 bulls, and Dunoon Angus, Holbrook, NSW, reached a top of $225,000, sold 146 of 147 bulls and averaged $14,432.
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