A WORLD record was set for a Speckle Park female at the Specktacular Sale, held after the breed’s first feature showing at the Royal Melbourne Show.
The huge result included a sale top of $31,000 for the 13 females sold from the 14 offered, which averaged $13,655, while nine of the 10 bulls offered were sold to a top of $22,000 to average $8940.
After frenzied bidding, Six Star G61 Tammy M6 was knocked down for $31,000 to Peter and Roz Alexander, directors of the Hidden Valley Speckle Parks, at Dungay near Tumbulgum on the Far North Coast.
It was the first female offered from Greg Ebbeck and Tim Bell’s Six Star Speckle Park stud, Bundanoon, and the first Six Star Rare Commodity G61 progeny to be offered at auction.
“I was blown away – we were expecting she’d make good money, but this was beyond our expectations,” Mr Ebbeck said.
“One of the things we found out afterwards were there were nine under-bidders, of which two were from Canada, and they were the last to bid before the buyer.”
Sale co-ordinator, Sam Nelson, confirmed the Canadian buyers were bidding over the phone.
Mr Ebbeck said the female was very complete and typical of a Rare Commodity daughter, with a beautiful disposition, deep body and “really broody”, which he said would mean she’d become a very good cow.
The Alexanders were confident that will be the case.
They are working with Mr Alexander’s sister and brother-in-law, Louise and Craig Parker, to establish a farming operation that they will be able to move back to in about four years’ time.
The Parkers, with their son, Josh, are responsible for the day to day running of Hidden Valley Speckle Park’s properties at Dungay Creek and Kyogle, in northern NSW. It has a growing stud and commercial operation that will produce premium grass-fed beef cattle.
Mr Alexander said he thought Six Star Tammy would be “fundamental with what we’re trying to do with the breed”.
He said she was a daughter of the “awesome” Six Star Rare Commodity and had the correct, square structure, balance and temperament that would be assets to the breeding program.
They will grow the heifer out and join her when she’s about three years old, as Mr Alexander said they wanted to have the best opportunities to produce better calves.
Six Star also had the top-priced bull of the sale, Six Star Wombat – who was also sired by Six Star Rare Commodity G61. Wombat has been champion at numerous shows throughout the country and the team at Six Star said he has carcase and maternal excellence in one package.
Wombat sold to another new buyer, Peter and Debbie Colley, Greenhaven Pastoral Company, Mitchells Island, in the Manning River, for $22,000.
The Colley family said they were particularly keen on the bull’s sire and plan to use the bull in their growing stud and market semen and embryos.
Mr Nelson said the sale exceeded his expectations.
“The Speckles are very popular and the cattle that were presented were very, very good and it was a unique opportunity,” he said.
The genetic packages also sold to strong competition, with semen lots selling for $100 to $340 a straw for 10 straws of Australian record top-priced bull Minnamurra Leander L81.
A package of four frozen, A-grade embryos from the joining of JSF Unmarked 2B and Almarlea Lacey 61Y K23 sold for $2100.
