A TOP quality yarding prompted strong bidding from buyers across NSW and into Victoria at the 27th annual Hunter Valley Angus Breeders female sale at Scone on Thursday.
The 1100-head yarding included nearly 400 cows and calves, 185 PTIC cows, 345 PTIC heifers and 145 unjoined heifers, with cattle coming from Scone, Murrurundi, Hanging Rock, Denman Coolah and Merriwa.
Cows and calves sold from $1560 a head to $2450, with most making between $1800 and $2300.
PTIC cows ranged from $1100 to $1920, PTIC heifers made between $1125 and $2000 and unjoined heifers sold from $840 to $1100.
Among the large lines were cattle from Heath Eslick, Waverley Station, Scone; Mark Hinman, “Mount Mill”, Coolah; Pomany Angus, Widden Valley; and Peter Fleming, “Brookdale”, Upper Rouchel.
Waverley Station and Frank Bragg, “Rossgole”, Aberdeen, had the top pens of cows and calves, each selling for $2450.
Waverley Station, owned by the Crouch family, also had the top pen of PTIC cows on their second calves to Waverley bulls.
Fifteen EU-accredited two-year-old heifers from Coolie Angus, Merriwa, were the top pen of PTIC heifers and Pomany Angus had the top pen of unjoined heifers.
Waverley Station manager Heath Eslick was happy with his prices, with his cows and calves fetching up to $700 more than at the same sale last year.
He sold 126 cows and calves, 37 PTIC cows, 70 PTIC heifers, with the sale coming at the right time after a tough autumn.
“We had a really good December, January and February and since then the season has cut out, so it was a bit of a battle to keep them going but they’ve done well to keep their condition,” Mr Eslick said.