Last year it was crippling drought, this year COVID-19 border restrictions created a challenging environment to sell 216 Angus bulls at auction.
But once again the Munro family of Booroomooka Angus rose to the challenge and cleared their entire catalogue for a monstrous $10,638 and $40,000 top outside Bingara on Friday.
In what was their 95th year breeding Angus cattle, at least 160 registered bidders were spread around the undercover selling complex with another 421 users logged in on AuctionsPlus from Tasmania, South Australia, NSW and Queensland.
Stud principal Sinclair Munro could finally rest easy after a stressful week working out the logistics for buyers restricted by border closures and was thankful for the support of their loyal following.
"We have got some wonderful repeat buyers and our business has grown," he said.
"We have people buy every year for the last 25 to 30 years, very good cattle people, and as our business has grown we have needed to attract more customers and we have got a wider base of customers now.
"Bulls went down to Tasmania right up to northern Queensland, central Queensland and a lot locally to the coast. It's a credit to our program that we have been able to grow it, keep our loyal customers, but also get new ones as we grow."
It took just over three hours to work through the entire catalogue with packets of biscuits offered during the auction and seat cushions available for the long stayers.
The top price of $40,000 was reached early for lot 11 and paid for Booroomooka President P22 by Bridgewater Angus, Black Mountain, with the assistance of Davidson Cameron and Co agent Nick Rogers on the phone to the Flower family.
The son of Booroomooka Kingy K9 out of Booroomooka Wigane, who went back to Booroomooka Dignity D310, was admired for his growth with added muscularity and doability and was mated to stud females as a yearling.
The 28-month-old weighed 906 kilograms and competed in ACM's Sire Shootout last month.
His estimated breeding values were top 10 per cent for 200, 400 and 600-day growth and mature cow weight along with carcase weight, eye muscle area. He was also top one and two per cent for all selection indexes.
Mr Munro said Roger Flower inspected the bull on Thursday and loved the sire.
"He had a commercial operation at Bundarra and he bought our bulls 20 years ago so it's nice to sell a bull to him and his stud that he is getting going," Mr Munro said.
The Flowers intend to collect semen from the bull and join him to around 60 handpicked stud females in their October artificial insemination program.
"We were attracted to the bull as he had a great set of figures and an exceptional structure," Roger Flower said.
"He really is the whole package. If the Angus mating predictor is anything to go by, he will produce some cracking calves."
AuctionsPlus played a big role on the day, bidding on at least 131 lots and securing 51 bulls.
They included at least four bulls for a Tasmanian buyer and three to Princess Royal Station, South Australia. A number of bulls were also bound for the Darling Downs in Queensland.
But in the sale barn it was Craiglea Pastoral Company, Bathurst, who secured the biggest order of 10 bulls averaging $8500.
Farm manager Patty Armstrong said it was their third year buying at Booroomooka for their self-replacing Angus cow operation that currently consists of about 2000 breeders.
Turning off feeder steers at 460 to 480 kilograms, Mr Armstrong was selecting moderate bulls with good maternal characteristics while keeping growth in mind.
"We fed our cows through. We have been in a herd building process since 2016 so we have lifted our numbers since then," he said.
"We are happy with their performance and doability and functionality. They have been good for us so we have been back."
Paraway Pastoral Company, Warren, weren't far behind with seven bulls averaging $8000.
SN Nivison and Co, Walcha, secured six bulls averaging $11,666 while Southwell Grazing, Bingara, purchased five bulls balancing out at $11,200 as did Bylot Plains Partnership, Moura, Qld, for an $8800 average along with WC and LF Schultz, Gunnedah, averaging $8600.
Selling agents were Davidson Cameron and Co with Luke Scicluna and Tom Tanner sharing auctioneering duties.
Mr Scicluna was ecstatic with the result which he said was a testament to the Booroomooka name.
"It was a solid result right the way through from the first bull that came through the ring to the end," he said.
"It was a great lineup of bulls and the name of Booroomooka is very strong throughout the Angus industry and we are certainly proud to be associated with Booroomooka and the Munro family."
Read the full report in The Land next week.