RETURN buyers from across NSW and beyond have helped Minnamurra Speckle Park stud record one of its best sales ever at on Friday.
A large crowd of bidders gathered for the on-property auction at Mount Mill, Coolah, while more than 100 people followed the sale online via AuctionsPlus from as far away as Tasmania, Victoria and Queensland.
Overall all 59 bulls on offer were snapped up for a 100 per cent clearance rate and at an average of $14,881.
In the breakdown, 22 rising two-year-old bulls sold at an average of $18,000, while 33 yearling bulls sold at an average of $13,818, and four tropical bulls sold at an average of $6500.
Minnamurra Rastus R51 stole the show, topping the sale at $56,000 after being knocked down to Wattle Grove Speckle Park stud, Oberon.
The 17-month-old, white-coloured, homozygous polled son of Minnamurra Knighthawk N112 and out of Minnamurra 6Z Spanish Angel N39, weighed 728 kilograms.
He ranked in the top 5pc of the breed for 400-day weight, rib and rump fat, scrotal size and mature cow weight, as well as the top 10pc of the breed for carcase weight, intramuscular fat (IMF) and 600-day weight.
"He's a great bull," Wattlegrove Speckle Park stud principal Dale Humphries said.
"I was very impressed by his weight for age and he'll be a good addition to our operation."
Minnamurra Speckle Park stud principal, Dennis Power, said he'd been the top bull in his contemporary group right from birth.
"His weight for age and his figures were outstanding," Mr Power said.
"He's in the top 10 per cent for virtually all of them.
"He's a good-natured, very good bull."
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Minnamurra Quantock Q64 topped the draft of 22 rising two-year-old bulls when he was knocked down to Castle Mountain Pastoral, Quirindi, for $28,000.
The homozygous polled second high-seller was by Redneck JSF Whiskey 4B and out of Minnamurra 300X Unique J83, and weighed 822kg at 25 months of age.
White in colour he sat top 5pc of the breed for mature cow weight, 400- and 600-day weight, scrotal size as well as IMF, and was one of two bulls purchased by Castle Mountain Pastoral at an average of $26,000.
Online volume buyers included Banana Station, Banana, Qld, six bulls at an average of $18,000, Currabubula Station, Walgett, four bulls at an average of $11,000 and K and K Rule, Charleville, Qld, three bulls at an average of $12,000.
Volume buyers in attendance included Gillawarrina Ag, Trangie, three bulls at an average of $15,333, and LJ Parsons, Scone, two bulls at an average of $13,000.
John Kater and Amanda Thorpe, Gillawarrina Ag, said they'd returned to the Coolah stud after making their first purchase last year.
The commercial producers run around 200 Angus and Shorthorn cows and heifers across properties at Trangie and Coolibah, and said they were chasing hybrid vigour with a Speckle Park cross.
Ms Thorpe said they had 90 Speckle Park calves about to drop that will be sired by last year's purchase.
"We bought one bull here last year and chose another three today, specifically to put over our cows and heifers," she said.
"We particularly like how Minnamurra breeds bulls to cope with our local environmental factors.
"The bulls are good foragers and hold on well in the drought.
"It gives us confidence that our subsequent breeding cows will thrive."
Dennis Power was thrilled to see bulls go to bidders across NSW and into Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.
He said it was a display of strength for the Speckle Park breed, and showed its increasing popularity.
"I couldn't be more pleased actually," Mr Power said.
"Right across the board, they've done particularly well this year.
"The young bulls sold exceptionally well and our two-year-olds were fantastic.
"These bulls have come all the way through just on oats and hay, and their weight-for-age and condition we couldn't be more pleased with."
Mr Power said the four tropical bulls in the catalogue were the first in a line of Bos Indicus-infused Speckle Park commercial bulls, more suited to the climate of Australia's harsh northern country.
He said this year, they were putting Telpara Hills Brangus sires over purebred cows.
"We'd like to get to a tropical breed with probably about 10 or 15 per cent Bos Indicus," Mr Power said.
"We want to get the hair off them, get them sleeker and just harden them up a little bit for the Northern market.
"It's going to take quite a while, but these Brangus we're using have high IMF figures and good raw scanning data, and we feel they're the cattle to do it with."
Friday's sale was conducted by Elders, Tamworth with Paul Dooley, Tamworth, 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.
