BUYERS came chasing performance at the Caldwell family's annual Milwillah Angus bull sale, pushing the sale to a top of $17,500, and averaging a healthy $8045 for the 80 of 82 bulls sold.
Return buyer Betty Roche, Arden Angus, Adelong, emphasised this point buying two of the top sires for $9000 and $16,000, chasing width and thickness, growth and performance, with good temperaments.
They included the 920-kilogram Milwillah Elevator J197 bull, by Coonamble Elevator, with estimated breeding values (EBVs) of +6.3 for birth weight, +126 for 600 day growth, +5.9 eye muscle area (EMA) and positive for retail beef yield and intra muscular fat percentage, as well as a soft, easy doing B-muscle score son of Matauri Reality, bought for his base width, structural soundness and good temperament.
Mrs Roche, with daughter Maria and grandson AJ, run 400 Angus cows, producing commercial bulls for local clients along with steers to the feedlots at 450kg.
"I bought Milwillah Fevola a few years ago and he has performed really well in our herd and now has a following of buyers with bull clients snapping his sons up first, and now commercial buyers are chasing the calves in the yards and paying premiums for them," she said.
The top bull was 930kg Milwillah Berkley J146, by Te Mania Berkley B1, with low birth at +3.5, strong growth to +120 for 600 day growth and positive carcase data to +5 for EMA and +$138 for Angus Breeding Indexes.
It was secured by Landmark for an undisclosed buyer.
After the first 30 bulls had sold the sale was averaging $10,100, with only a modest top of $17,500, showing the depth of quality throughout the catalogue.
At the same time there was real value throughout the consistent run of 80 bulls with 51 bulls selling between $4000 and $8000.
Commercial buyers mixed with stud buyers like Annie Scott and her father John Reen, Karoo Angus, Meadow Flat, who paid $14,000 for outcross sire son Milwillah Reality K12, by New Zealand sire Matauri Reality, with low birth, good growth and positive carcase data.
Last year's top-priced buyer Bryan Hayden, Buchan Station, East Gippsland, Victoria, who is a commercial breeder of 600 cows producing calves for the Bairnsdale prime cattle markets, came and snapped up the feature lot of the sale Milwillah Elevator J128 for $14,000.
Other top buyers included Leawood Angus, Leongatha, Victoria, which paid $15,000 for Milwillah Regent J144; N.T. and B.A. Chesire, Wodonga, paid $12,500 and $12,000 for two bulls; the Hewitt Family, "Hollywood", Crookwell, bought two at $12,000 and $13,000; Binda Holdings, Crookwell, paid $12,000 for a new sire, and N. and J. Umbuck, Gippsland, Vic, paid $12,000 for one of the top 18-month-old bulls Milwillah Reality K24.
The regular buyers then hit the market with Anthony Triggs, Elders Goondiwindi, Queensland, purchasing seven bulls for Duddy Management, "South Callandoon", and the Coulton Family Goondiwindi, to $7500 averaging $6000, while F.A. Kelly, Yass, averaged $7833 for three, and Dennis Manion and the Roundtree family of Windridge farms, Young, running 680 Shorthorn-cross and composite cows, producing steers to the feedlots, loaded three at $7000.
Arthur Bragg, "Rossgole", Aberdeen, paid to $9000 for four bulls averaging $8500, while the White family, Belltrees Pty Ltd, Scone, paid to $12,000 for three bulls averaging $7833.
David and Francine Harding, Mayfield Cattle Company, Howlong, found some good buying, securing three bulls at $4833 among the top prices to round out the sale.
The sale was conducted by Elders and Landmark with Andy McGeoch and Andrew Wishart as the auctioneers.
- BRETT?TINDAL
