Some prices were up by more than $1000 a head, gains of 30%-plus on last year, in the sales just finishing in the North Island and still under way in the South Island.
Other sales had gains of $300 to $500 a head.
Waiterenui Stud in Hawke’s Bay averaged $4197 an animal for 38 yearling Angus bulls.
In the South Island, Te Mania Stud in northern Canterbury averaged $4203 a head for 47 yearlings followed the next day, Thursday, by Kakahu Stud in South Canterbury achieving $4800 for 29 bulls.
The Kakahu gain was $1100 a head, PGG Wrightson livestock agent Jonty Hyslop said.
The top price was $7500 for a yearling with exceptional data and carcase traits. It was the first bull up and attracted fierce bidding, he said.
The focus on continually improving top quality genetics was paying off for Angus breeders and all had good sales this season, Tom Hargreaves, who manages the family-owned Kakahu Stud farm, said.
All the stud’s bulls sold to commercial farmers on Thursday would be mated with heifers in the coming season.
Genetic advances had made heifer-mating a good opportunity for farmers with easy (unassisted) calving, faster growth rates and high marbling content in the meat.
Mating heifers had not been popular till the last two or three years though Kakahu had been breeding from them for 15 years, Hargreaves said.
The barriers to successful calving and mothering had to be bred out of the herd and the genetic gains were being passed on by the bulls to their progeny. They included smaller calf size to help calving.
“We’ve got 100% confidence in them and 95% of our buyers are repeat buyers.”
More heifer mating potentially meant a significant gain in beef cattle numbers.
Kakahu had typically put 22 to 25 yearling bulls in its onfarm spring sale but all 29 sold keenly this time and an extra 10 or so bulls were likely to go in next year’s sale.
Waiterenui Stud owner Will MacFarlane said all the work done by AngusNZ on its quality meat programmes, targeted largely at the United States market, was being rewarded.
Demand for Angus bulls was very strong.
“Consumers are willing to pay up for grass-fed beef, ethically farmed, with great marbling taste and the traceability we have here as well.”
Stud breeders were being rewarded for the carcase attributes and early maturity in the animals they were making available for commercial farmers.
Wrightson’s Hyslop said the global beef market might be off its peaks and with overseas competitor-countries having an impact on returns but NZ farmers could still do very well with the value they were adding.
The group’s national genetics manager Callum Stewart said more yearling bulls were being sold than ever before in a changing market, partly because of a move away from bobby calf processing and the associated issues.
Farmers were seeing the benefit of improving genetics to get a new, quality animal with more tender, flavourful meat and that was good for New Zealand.
The strong volume yearling sales might be to the detriment of two-year-old bull sales and that would be a concern, he said.
As well as the change away from bobby calves, other farmers were moving from sheep to cattle because they were less labour-intensive and that was increasing demand for breeding bulls.
Stewart reported other strong sales.
Twin Oaks Stud in Waikato sold 38 yearling Angus bulls at an average $3505 and in North Canterbury Woodbank Angus sold 34 yearlings at $2905 while Red Oak Stud sold 29 at $2452.
Rangitikei Hereford breeder Ardo Stud had also done well selling 82 yearling bulls at an average $3475 a head and Tainui’s Hangawera Stud in Waikato sold 108 animals at $2356 average.
