MANDAYEN bucked predictions of a tough selling season at its ninth annual Limousin bull sale with a barnstorming on-property auction at Keith.
Strong stud and commercial interest resulted in a highly commendable 97 per cent clearance, with 71 of 73 apricot, black and Lim-Flex bulls sold to a $4669 average - a result principals Damian and Mandy Gommers were rapt with.
There were positive signs from the outset, with lots one and two - both apricot sons of Mandayen Energiser E1338 - selling for $5500 and $7500 respectively to Garrison Cattle Feeders, Murray Downs, Vic.
But the sale's pinnacle came in lot three when another son of Energiser E1338 - Mandayen Energiser H2076 - made the top price of $16,000.
The May 2012-drop bull weighed 784 kilograms with a 40-centimetre scrotal circumference.
He was in the top 10pc of the breed for nine production traits, including the top 5pc for all growth performance, milk and carcaseweight, and in the top 10pc for all dollar indexes.
Bidding started at $6000 with the bull looking like it would be knocked down for a cheaper price on a number of occasions, but a patient auctioneer in Spence Dix & Co's Jono Spence made sure he drew the maximum value for the bull.
The bull went to Wingham, NSW-based breeders Paul and Janette Relf, Warrigal Limousins, and Ken and Kirsten Bisley, Amber Park Limousins who were working in partnership, after a bidding shootout with Garrison Cattle Feeders.
The Relfs have been buyers at Mandayen while the Bisleys have used Mandayen genetics but never bought bulls at its sale.
Ms Bisley said she liked everything about the top-price bull.
"He's got a lot of meat and substance and to top it all off he was homozygous Polled," she said.
Stud support was dotted throughout the sale, with Brentvale Limousins, Echunga, outlaying the second-highest price of $9000 for Mandayen Mr Jock H2133.
The bull, by Hunt Mr Jock 44J, was in the highest 10pc of the breed for eight production traits, including the top 5pc for calving-ease daughters, milk, scrotal size and docility.
Apart from stud support, there were bulls to suit every producer's needs, with almost 60pc of the catalogue selling between the base price of $2500 and $4000.
Buying support came from as far as Bell, Qld, right down through NSW and Vic and through most regions of SA right up to the Far North.
Of the 61 registered bidders, 37 came from interstate, emphasising Mandayen's high standing among Limousin breeders in Australia.
Volume support came from Deepwater Pastoral Holdings, Tintinara, who bought five bulls to a $6500 high, averaging $5100.
Sutton Grange, Keith, and JA&KK Harris, Mulurulu Station via Mildura, Vic, bought four bulls each.
* Full report in Stock Journal, March 6, 2014 issue.