Friday, March 29, 2024

Bull 2018 sale wrap

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Gisborne’s Kaharau Stud dominated the top end of a very strong overall Angus bull market over the winter.
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In north Canterbury, Te Mania Stud principal Tim Wilding was delighted with his gross income of $1.4 million from the 123 rising two-year bulls sold on-farm, the biggest yarding of any of the sales, for an average $11,380 per animal.

“To get that over all the bulls offered, it’s a lot of support from the commercial guys,’’ he said.

The outlook was exciting, with a global trend to grass-fed, marbled beef, and Angus was a strong brand globally. Te Mania had been putting marbling into the cattle carcase for more than 20 years.

The stud had a record top price of $47,000, and the average was also a record.

Kaharau sold its headline young bull for $95,000 at the late-June sale, much higher than even the good price that studmaster Penny Hoogerbrug was expecting. She described the bidding as nerve-wracking and the bull as “just beautifully balanced’’. Kaharau sold another bull for $50,000, the third highest among the Angus, and these results led to the top average, at $14,970 a head across the 51 sold.

Second top was achieved by Springdale Thor, offered by Springdale Stud, Taumarunui, fetching $62,000, and the stud averaged $10,963 on the 42 sales. 

The top Kaharau bull was sired by the acclaimed Braveheart of Stern, and Springdale Thor was from a Braveheart cow.

 He still figures in the operations of Stern Angus in South Canterbury, through the cows bred from him and a son doing stud duty. 

Stern had the second biggest sale, with 105 rising-two bulls offered and sold this year. “It was outstanding, unbelievable, and a record for us,’’ said stock manager Donald Hay. “We focus not just on getting top cows but also on an animal that can be finished well, and people are shopping round for that.’’

There’s rising confidence in the sector, and buyers are focussed on profit, as early as weaner sales.

Stern’s top price this year was $20,000, and the average was a very strong $11,030 a head, for a gross income of $1.15m. Like may people, Hay believes there’s a move to beef from sheep among many older farmers looking for a less-strenuous working life. Stern also had its first in-calf heifer sale during early winter, with very strong demand from commercial buyers. 

Wilding says there is a lot more confidence in the sector, which stud breeders are matching with more consistent bull quality. Most farms he visits could run a few more cows, and he is a long-term advocate of breeding from two-year heifers as the quickest way to higher profitability. Both his $47,000 sale bull and the $37,000 top price lot at the national Angus sale in May were bred this way.

 Gisborne-based Turihaua Stud had a strong average, $12,655, across 74 bulls which all sold, and Rangatira Stud, also Gisborne, averaged $11,860.  

Hereford bulls had some very good price action, highlighted by Grassmere Stud from Cheviot in North Canterbury, achieving top price for the third year in a row. In a small on-farm yarding, top price was $60,000 for a bull that breeder Chris Jefferies said was a “long bull, structurally good, and with a good temperament’’ that appealed to buyers. 

“I thought the second time last year was pretty good, but three in a row is awesome.’’

Jefferies liked the bull, but this auction just had two very keen buyers who kept pushing the price up. “Sometimes you have a good bull but there’s no-one there to challenge a buyer, and sometimes you’re on a win and get the value on the day.’’

The bull was sold to an Amberley, North Canterbury, stud. Commercial buyers are his core clients, and a stud sale is a bonus. His other seven bulls sold averaged just under $8500.

Koanui Hereford Stud at Havelock North had very good results, with all 63 bulls offered being sold. Top price was $51,000, and the average was $12,295.

The Grassmere and Koanui values were well up on last year; the top prices ahead by about $20,000 in each case. 

This year has been doubly successful for Wairoa-based Simmental stud breeder John Knauf who followed up his best sale price with a big result at The NZ Steak of Origin competition at Mystery Creek in June, providing the European breed and Overall Grand Champion.

At his Kerrah Stud sale in late May, his top rising two-year-old bull fetched $27,000, nearly $10,000 more than the top price a year earlier. The average price over a large yarding of 81 young bulls (all sold) was $7910, also well up on the 2017 average of $6711.

The prices were very encouraging for his farm and for the Simmental breed, Knauf said. “We’re getting a more loyal following each year.’’

His breeding business is focussed on breeding for calves which grow quickly and are easily finished, mainly for the commercial market. All but four of his yarding were bought by commercial farmers.

Of the Steak of Origin success, Knauf said it was “a feather in the cap, and a good one to tick off’’.  

# Kaharau Angus Stud’s $95,000 was a stunning price though not an all-time record as suggested in an early July Farmers Weekly report. Feilding’s Kiwitea Stud sold rising two-year bull Atahua Legacy for $155,000 at the 1992 Beef Expo to joint-buyers Kaharau and Rangatira studs. Rangatira was a joint-buyer of the latest Kaharau bull. Rangatira Angus also sold a rising two-year bull for $100,000 at its 2015 on-farm sale.  

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