THERE was plenty of reasons for the Catts family to celebrate after its annual Futurity Shorthorns and Temana Charolais bull sale on Thursday afternoon.
A crowd of more than 80 registered bidders gathered at Glen Ayr, Baradine, for the on-property live auction while many more followed along online via AuctionsPlus aiming to get their hands on the 58 Shorthorn and 28 Charolais bulls up for sale.
The Futurity Shorthorn bulls went under the hammer first as all 58 were snapped up at an average of $17,293, which is believed to be an on-property bull sale record for the breed, and a top of $37,000 for lot 13 Futurity Quadrant Q256.
However, despite being auctioned off second, the 25 Temana Charolais bulls on offer arguably stole the show with all 28 selling at an average of $12,536 and to a top of $42,000 for lot 62 Temana Quest Q66, which was purchased by Keddstock Pty Ltd, Yuleba, Queensland.
The 22-month-old white coloured, Polled son of Minnie-Vale Jack Sprat and out of Temana H4E weighed 949 kilograms, was rated in the top 10 per cent of the breed for intramuscular fat, and in the top 20pc for 200-day, 400-day and 600-day growth weight.
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"I think he has got outstanding data set and I think his figures are top notch," Futurity Shorthorns and Temana Charolais stud principal Jason Catts told The Land.
"He's a very long-bodied bull, a good type and he is as docile as you can get a beast too.
"Overall, I think he ticks a lot of boxes."
Mr Catts said Futurity Quadrant Q256, which was a 25-month-old, red coloured, Homozygous Polled son of Futurity Magic Mike M302 and out of Futurity Hectors Mary Ann N165 weighed 897 kilograms, was rated in the top 10pc of the breed for birthweight, calving ease and rib-eye area and was purchased by Wirth Cattle Co, Glen Innes, also had a lot positive characteristics.
"I think he has a lot of pretty similar attributes to the top-selling Charolais bull," he said.
"People are chasing good bulls with good temperament and good data these days, which I think both of those top selling bulls have in spades."
The two top-selling bulls were among 18 which sold for more than $20,000, of which 16 were Shorthorn bulls and two were Charolais bulls, which helped propel the two studs to a combined average of $15,744.
Bulls were purchased from as far away as Mount Gambier, South Australia, Bairnsdale, Victoria and across NSW.
Among the volume buyers of Shorthorn bulls were Eulomo Pastoral Co, Bethungra, NSW, five bulls at an average of $15,000, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Adelaide, which bought three bulls on behalf of a client at an average of $8000 and DJ and JE Winfield Family Trust, Roma, Queensland, three bulls at an average of $13,333.
Buyers who took home multiple Charolais bulls included Keddstock Pty Ltd, two bulls at an average of $34,000, Yarrawonga Grazing, Roma, Queensland, eight bulls at an average of $9250 and Dedpic Springs, Cann River, Victoria, two bulls at an average of $11,000.
"It was very pleasing to see so many commercial and stud operators have a lot of faith in what we do here," Mr Catts said.
"We are a bit overwhelmed with the support to be honest, I guess it just goes to show the strength of the industry we are in at the moment.
"Generally, we do sell bulls right across Australia, but this year we have a lot of support out of Queensland, particularly with the Shorthorn bulls.
"As far as the success of this year's sale goes, it surpasses anything else we've done and it is really quite overwhelming and we are truly grateful for everyone's support."
Thursday's sale also marked a milestone for the Catts family as it marked the final year of Mr Catts mother and father-in-law Maylene and Terry Griffin operating the stud, before handing over the reins to Mr Catts and his family.
"It was lovely for Kylie and I to be given the opportunity to purchase the entire Temana Charolais herd from my in-laws," he said.
"They have put in so much hard work making the stud what it is today and we very much look forward to carrying on that legacy."
The sale was conducted by Elders, Gunnedah with Lincoln McKinlay, Inverell, auctioneering.
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Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
