Sterita Park Angus stud bulls to $15,000

In a total clearance, the DiGiorgio family sold 90 pasture-fed bulls for an outstanding $6828 average – up more than $1000 on 2016.

Buyers were spoilt for choice, with high performance but also easy-calving sires. The 79 rising two-year-olds averaged $6905, while 11 spring 2015-drop bulls topped at $8000 and averaged $6272.

Eight of the first 10 lots made $10,000 or more, setting a blistering pace, including the two $15,000 sale-toppers, which were both AI-bred by United States sires.

The first, lot 3 – Sterita Park L19 – was bought by Regan and Karen Burow, Yerwal Estate stud, Lucindale.

The EF Complement 8088 son was a soft, easy fleshing heifer bull with low birthweight and short gestation figures.

Yerwal also bought the previous lot for $10,000.

“Both bulls were very sound and had good scrotal development, which is always beneficial when breeding bulls in the future,” Mr Burow said.

Pembroke Pastoral Co, Telangatuk East, Vic, also outlaid $15,000, for lot 6 – Sterita Park L135.

Pembroke’s Kathy Simons said the 820-kilogram son of KM Broken Bow had caught their eye at the SA Beef Field Days and they “kept coming back” to the herd improver.

“It is a complete package with nice, soft skin, good figures and thick through the rear end,” she said.

“We breed weaners, but we keep replacement heifers too, so we want a bull that can have good heifers coming through.”

DW Taylor, Kingarth stud, Nairne, bought lot 49 for the $13,000 second-highest price – a bull with Angus Breeding, Domestic and Heavy Grass indexes all in the top 10 per cent of the breed. 

It was out of one of the stud’s top donor females, Sterita Park Royal Lass H244.

Hillcrest Pastoral Company, Avenue Range, continued its long-time support of the stud, with eight bulls averaging $7438, including an impressive Connealy Earnan son for $12,000.

Despite the highs the large geographical spread of buyers from northern Vic to Kangaroo Island, the Lower South East and pastoral areas enjoyed plenty of good buying.

Landmark Adelaide’s Trevor Driver, with client Broad Cattle Company, put a solid floor in the sale, buying 11 bulls averaging $4591.

These will head to Jervois Station, via Alice Springs, NT.

Another pastoral order came from Landmark Kimba’s Phil Arcus, buying for Stuart Creek station via Marree. He bought eight bulls between $6000 and $8500.

Stud principal Nanni DiGiorgio was rapt with the total clearance and selling an extra dozen bulls.

The bulls are run under the same conditions as their large-scale commercial operation, on dryland lucerne, but the good season had enabled them to reach their genetic potential. The spring-drop bulls were up to 150kg heavier than 2016.

Landmark SA stud stock manager Gordon Wood, who shared the auctioneering duties with Paul Dooley from NSW, said buyers recognised the stud’s genetics were in the top end of the breed.

“Nanni has spent a lot of time and money sourcing genetics in the US and across Australia and it shows,” he said.