VENDORS from every eastern state offered lots in the GDL Premium Wagyu sale hosted online via AuctionsPlus on Thursday last week with the sale grossing just over $2 million.
In the breakdown, 20 of 27 bulls sold to a top of $34,000, for an average of $21,900, 10 of 44 females sold to $39,000 and averaged $21,200, four of 11 pens of Waygu heifers sold to $16,000 per head for an average of $12,033 per head, and two pens of Angus heifers sold for $4000 a head.
In the genetic lots, 28 of 62 semen packages sold to $9050 per straw and averaged $171.8/straw, and two of 10 embryo packages sold to $2400 per embryo for an average of $1950/embryo.
Topping the sale was the $39,000 female, 3D Genetics N0276, offered by Genus Pastoral Company, Cracow, Qld, and purchased by Garth and Josie Christiansen, Christiansen Cattle Co, Taroom, Qld.
N0276 was in the top 10pc for 200-, 400-, and 600-day weights, mature cow weight, milk, carcase weight, marble score, marble fineness, and Self-Replacing Index (SRI) Fullblood Terminal Index (FTI) and F1 Terminal Index (F1TI).
With the classic breeding of Michifuku and Itsoshigenami bloodlines, the Sunland L0526 daughter was pregnant to Mayura Pioneer ADBFP0879.
Mr Christiansen also purchased the top-priced bull for $34,000, Binowee S0042, offered by Binowee Cattle Company, Milmerran, Qld.
The son of Tyddewi N4432 was in the top 1pc for marble score, marble fineness, and F1TI, and the top 10pc for SRI and FTI, and the top 20pc for eye muscle area (EMA), and top 30pc for birth weight.
Mr Christiansen said the bull would be used over Angus females in a first-cross breeding program and the top-priced female would go into a flush program.
Christiansen Cattle Company also purchased three straws of Wyndford Itoguni 308H for $3525/straw.
These purchases follow from the company's purchase of the high indexing bull, Arubial S0060, in the Marble High Wagyu Sale in August this year for $45,000.
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Topping the pens of heifers was a pen of three fullblood heifers account Sunnyside Wagyu, Inverell, and purchased by Rick Gates, Uralla, for $16,000 a head.
The pen consisted of three heifers, S0070, S0085 and S0116, which were all joined to Sunnyside Q0540, a son of Coates Itoshigenami G113 which was in the top 1pc for gestation length, EMA, marble score, marblie fineness, SRI, FTI, and F1TI.
Among the heifers, S0070 was in the top 10pc for marble score, marble fineness, SRI, FTI, and F1TI, and the top 30pc for gestation length and carcase weight, S0085 was in the top 10pc for milk, marble score, marble fineness, SRI, FTI, and F1TI, and the top 30pc for birth weight and S0116 was in the top 10pc for gestation length, marble score, SRI, FTI, and F1TI, and the top 30pc for 200 day weight, carcase weight, marble fineness, and rib fat.
Two pens of 35 Angus heifers' joined to Wagyu bulls were also offered by Barnett Angus, Carrathool, and purchased by an undisclosed commercial buyer from Queensland for $4000 a head.
The heifers were joined to Binowee R31, Genefloe Waygu Q0001, Kildrummie R084, Kildrummie R092, Kildrummie R106, Shokunin Michifuku R687, Ureshii Hirashigetayasu R61, and Ureshii Itosaigenami R22.
Two semen packages reached the top price of $9050/straw, both offered by Fuchida Wagyu, Kooroocheang, Vic, one was Shigefuku J1822 and the other was DAI 6 Seizan. Both of these packages were purchased by Wayne Grimshaw, King Valley Wagyu and Moyhu Wagyu, Meadow Creek, Vic.
Harvey Weyman-Jones, Grant Daniel and Long Pty Ptd, Dalby, said "we didn't know how much it would make but we know it was rare".
"Semen sold well... we sold more after the sale which bought us to just shy of 1000 straws sold," he said.
Shigefuku J1822 was catalogued as a bull that exhibits higher growth rates, body volume and maternal milk supply while maintain marbling quality, Shigefuku had a mature weight of 1174 kilograms. It was also in the top 1per cent for milk.
Sired by DAI 20 Hirashige J287 and out of Morikita J141042, the bull was bred from 100pc Kedaka and Tottori blood lines, and inherits strongly from Eiko.
DAI 6 Seizan was the highest Okayama strain Wagyu available in Australia at 59.3 per cent and also consists of 28.1pc Tajima strain to add marble performance. This sire was in the top 10pc for milk and top 20pc for birth weight.
In the embryo packages, four embryos from sire Arubial United P0342 and donor Lindan F D8825, offered by Lindan Wagyu, Holbrook, made $2400/embryo to Charlie Pye, Walgett.
Sired by P0342 which was in the top 1pc for gestation length, 400 and 600 day weights, maternal cow weight, carcase weight, and SRI, FTI, and F1TI, the resulting calves were expected to be in the top 1pc for SRI FTI and F1TI, top 10pc for carcase weight, EMA, marble score, and marble fineness, and the top 20pc for 400 and 600 day weights, and mature cow weight.
Mr Weyman-Jones said this was the most successful GDL Premium Wagyu sale they had held thus far.
