THE stands were packed at Stoney Point's selling complex at Naracoorte on Monday, with 63 registered buyers among the huge crowd that turned out for the stud's autumn Angus stud bull sale.
About 40 of those registered went home with bulls, including a handful from interstate, in Stoney Point's best ever sale.
The stud had increased its offering on the 2020 sale, but all 86 bulls still sold in a total clearance to a new on-property top price of $22,000 and record average of $9500 - a massive $2692 increase on last year's sale.
Stoney Point stud manager Peter Colliver was "extremely rapt with that result", a testament to the line-up of high quality bulls they had on offer.
"Given the way the cattle market is trending at the moment, it is not surprising, but is still a fantastic result for us, particularly as it was the most bulls we have ever offered," he said.
"We had a few interstate clients missing from the stand, which was disappointing, but the sale was interfaced with AuctionsPlus, so they still had that opportunity to buy."
But online orders were unable to get a look in, with bidding very strong from the stands right through the catalogue.
H Francis & Co stud stock's Scott Myers travelled all the way from NSW to buy the sale's $22,000 top price bull for stud clients Myanga Angus, Chatsbury, NSW, after seeing it during Stock Journal Beef Week.
The 19-month-old AI-bred Stoney Point Quiche Q245 weighed 850 kilograms, and had a Breedplan figures spread of +2.3 birthweight to +148 for 600 day weight.
It also had figures of +4.7 eye muscle area, +2.2 intramuscular fat and +83 carcase weight.
"This guy stood out on straight phenotype. It had a beautiful set of numbers for low birth, good growth, positive IMF and big indexes - it was one of the deepest bulls I've seen this year capacity-wise," Mr Myers said.
"It was also a son of Wattletop Franklin, which goes back to the Wattletop Barunah cow (which sold for $38,000 at that stud's dispersal in 2017).
"Even the Holly genetics on the dam side is a pretty solid cow family. It will become a stud sire."
Mr Colliver said the bull's breeding wasn't a common cross at Stoney Point, with more females produced, but was a bloodline that they would definitely continue on with.
"There was a lot to like about that bull," he said.
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Mr Colliver said many of their S Whitlock-sired bulls also sold well, which included the sale's second-highest price bull Stoney Point Qalcutta Q050 at $20,000.
This June 2019-drop bull weighing 756kg was bought by repeat clients Nareen Station, Vic, which was one of Stoney Point's volume buyers with five bulls averaging a whopping $15,200.
Stoney Point Qalcutta was another "curve bender" with Breedplan figures of +2.1BW, +145 for 600 day weight, +87CWT, +3.3EMA and +2IMF.
Benara Station, Mount Gambier, also bought in bulk, taking home six bulls to $18,000, averaging $9167.
This included the sale's third-highest price bull Stoney Point Qalculate, which was AI-bred "in the purple" being sired by Sydgen Enhance and out of Stoney Point Yankee Queen N913.
It weight 888kg at 20 months old and had figures of +3.2BW, +136 for 600 day weight, +80CWT, +7EMA and +1.8IMF.
Nutrien Livestock and Spence Dix & Co conducted the sale, with Gordon Wood and Jono Spence the auctioneers.
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Alisha Fogden
Journalist at Australian Community Media newspapers since 2007.
Journalist at Australian Community Media newspapers since 2007.
