STUD stock agents are confident the good times will keep rolling for the state's cattle industry, after an outstanding bull and stud cattle selling season that was spurred to new heights by brimming confidence in the commercial side of the industry.
The majority of studs enjoyed sale average increases of $3000 and beyond in comparison to 2020.
Three bulls, a Poll Hereford, Simmental and Angus, shared the highest price achieved during on-property sales at $40,000.
They were Days Kingswood Q139 from Lachy and Lou Day, Days Whiteface stud, Bordertown; Woonallee Nobel Prize Q368 from Tom and Lizzy Baker, Furner; and Nampara Junior Q148 offered by Stuart and Natalie Hann, Lucindale.
Only five weeks after losing up to 250 stud cattle in the Blackford bushfire, Glatz's Black Angus stud, Avenue Range, achieved the season's highest average, clearing 59 bulls averaging $13,661. This was a whopping $5920 increase on last year's result.
Two Stoney Point Angus females smashed the previous state Angus female record and both surpassed $40,000 during the first stage of the stud's dispersal sale - the first SA Angus dispersal sale held in eight years.
Across two days, nearly 400 pregnancy-tested Angus females, including 70 weaner heifers, grossed a magical $2.15 million.
Stud principal Perry Gunner, who made the difficult decision to sell the 23-year-old stud as part of his retirement plans, was "very pleased" to see the better quality females, including the former embryo transfer donors surpassing $40,000 twice.
Mr Gunner was pleased to see stud female prices following the same trend of the very strong bull selling season, both underpinned by high saleyard and slaughter prices.
"It has taken cattle a while to catch up with the drought having a major impact on keeping prices down but now we are back to normal there is a new higher normal in prices," he said.
"With the rains through eastern Australia you can't imagine demand dropping - anywhere it has rained there will be a lot of grass grown."
Elders SA stud stock manager Tony Wetherall said this season's bull sale results had comfortably outstripped expectations.
"Demand was high from commercial producers and they were willing to chase the bulls of their choice and spend accordingly," he said.
"The commercial return for heifers, older cows and steers is well up on last year and that reflected in the early bull sales of the season and the momentum continued to build as the season went on."
Mr Wetherall said there was particularly high demand for Angus bulls and that was to be expected with the sheer number of black cattle around, but other breeds also experienced significant price rises on 2020.
While Mr Wetherall said cattle returns had hit a "new level" recently, he didn't expect a significant drop-off anytime soon.
"You don't often find (stud) prices come back unless there's a substantial drop in commercial and domestic prices," he said.
"The market is very buoyant and there's great confidence out there so we just need the good seasons to continue so everyone can reap the rewards."
Nutrien SA stud stock manager Gordon Wood said he couldn't remember a time when confidence in Australia's beef industry was higher.
"I don't recall when the jump in commercial prices has flipped over into the stud side of the industry as quickly," he said.
"We normally see when beef, sheep or wool takes a jump it is two to three years until we see it in the rams or bulls but the 40 per cent to 60pc jump in the beef market has been seen in bull sales already.
"A lot of rain in the east and general rains in the north of SA will really push the market again and mean the stud job keeps pushing along."
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