It was a happy but hard day for the Geard family of Premier Angus, Mangoplah, after they bid farewell to their well-regarded herd on Wednesday.
Before the sale commenced stud principal Fred Geard told the crowd he wanted everyone to have a good time and hoped they liked what they had seen on offer.
The Geard family made the switch from Limousin to Angus cattle 10 years ago but the time had come for Fred to slow down and his son Stuart was busier than ever with Holbrook Breeders Australia.
It took just shy of four hours for the hammer to fall on the reputable breeding operation with 272 lots selling to average $8025 (including genetic packages).
A total of 22 autumn cows topped at $38,000 and averaged $10,818, 117 spring cows and calves topped at $46,000 and averaged $11,350, eight PTIC autumn heifers peaked at $14,000 and averaged $7125 and 45 Q females topped at $20,000 to average $6955.
A total of 11 Q bulls sold to a top of $14,000 and average $8181 with a $50,000 high paid for the three-year-old sire Milwillah Napa N498 who bought back by his original breeders, Milwillah Angus, Young.
Napa was purchased for $24,000 to complement the Premier cow herd and had been on the stud's radar for a few years.
Semen from the son of Matauri Reality 839 out of Milwillah Barunah H224 had already been sold to New Zealand.
The Premier operation was focused on breeding the best females using proven genetics that would work in the Australian environment. This breeding objective was highly respected by the large number of stud principals in attendance at the sale.
Estimated breeding values were noted but not a great emphasis was placed on them, opting to use sires that phenotypically would complement the herd at the expense of using high indexing but low accuracy sires.
The sale peaked early for females with the second lot of the day, six-year-old donor Premier Bara K15PV and her two-month-old bull calf, making $46,000 to KO Angus stud, Kangaloon, and Jason Keays and John Weekley, Southern Pastoral Company, Fish Creek, Victoria.
Her embryos had sold to five different studs over the years including a son that topped the Gilmandyke Angus sale last year.
The following lot, the nine-year-old Premier Y301 Dream G13, was stud bound after being secured for $38,000 by Banquet Angus, Mortlake, Victoria.
Spring Hill Angus, Woodlands, paid $22,000 for the seven-year-old female Kansas Rita J117P who was originally purchased from the Kansas Angus dispersal for the $17,000 top price.
Merridale Angus, Tennyson, Vic, and Crawford Angus, Tumorrama paid $38,000 for one of the picks of the sale, Premier Y301 Dream P141 with a bull calf at foot.
The next lot, Premier Barbara P104PV and her bull calf, sold for $32,000 to Spry's Angus, Wagga Wagga while the four-year-old donor female Premier Jestress M2 and her bull calf sold for $30,000 to Boambee Angus stud, Seaham.
The sale was conducted by Nutrien.
Read the full report in The Land next week.
