Thursday, March 28, 2024

Angus sale gains 30%

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A near 30% gain in average prices on a much bigger yarding made South Canterbury farmer James Fraser a very happy vendor after his annual onfarm yearling bull sale.
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The Stern Angus Stud at Pleasant Point sold 43 out of the 45 bulls presented on Wednesday at an average price of $3650. That was $800 higher than last year when 26 bulls were sold.

“It was a very good sale.”

Top price was $6500 paid by the Kearny family from the Pig Route area of Central Otago, for Lot 2, which was also the top rated of the yearlings on the Self Replacing Index, an AngusNZ guide to profitability on a range of genetic measures.

The bulls were sold specifically for mating with heifers and were selected from the Frasers’ herd of 270 yearling bulls for their genetic breed qualities in shorter gestation and easy calving.

Most of the bulls were sold to farmers in South Canterbury, Otago, and Southland but eight were bought by a northern Hawke’s Bay station.

Stern Angus offered more bulls to provide a chance for commercial cattle farmers to breed from more heifers this season, Fraser said.

That was where the national Angus herd population would be increased over the next few years to take advantage of good international beef prices though he was not expecting numbers to get back to previous peaks.

Strong prices coincided with some older farmers seeing labour advantages in farming more cattle and fewer sheep, making for a win-win for the sector.

There were still good earnings prospects for farmers with the beef price around the mid-point between the $4/kg level it had come from and the $6/kg level it had got to in the latest peak, Fraser said. 

The sale followed a record winter sale of rising two-year bulls.

He and wife Fiona were also selling other yearling and two-year bulls out of the paddock, with good demand for them as well.

The stud’s primary sale was in the winter, with between 100 and 120 18-month animals being offered and in May about 150 in-calf heifers would be offered.

Nearly half of Wednesday’s offering carried the Stern McCaw name developed by the family in recent years, though not the top-price bull.

The stud had named earlier prominent bulls Crusader and Highlander and with former All Blacks captain Ritchie McCaw being “a South Canterbury boy” the rugby theme was carried on.

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