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NEARLY 50 years after the state's first on-property bull sale was held at The Basin sale complex, Bull Oak Well stud's Heath and Amanda Nickolls are excited about holding their first sale as owners there next month.
The Pinnaroo stud breeders have hired the sale complex near Willalooka for their past 12 sales but, in September last year, they bought 200 hectares of the property that was once home to the late Don Moyle's renowned Angus stud.
"It is a big purchase for us but we have good people giving us good advice, like our bank manager and our stock agent," Mr Nickolls said. "While any purchase is a risk, we see this as a calculated risk."
With their three young sons - Cooper, Harry and Archie - all keen on agriculture, Mr Nickolls says it will help fulfil their ambition of growing from 270 to 400 registered cows in the next five to 10 years.
Their immediate plans include some pasture renovation at The Basin and hopefully running about 70 stud cows there.
"It is nice knowing the property has that history," he said.
"Everyone from SA and western Vic seems to know The Basin.
"Willalooka also seems like a great community and similar to the Pinnaroo/Parilla community we are part of so we are looking forward to getting to know the locals."
For their first sale as owners, they have moved to an earlier date in Angus Week, on Monday, February 12 rather than being one of the final sales.
The Nickolls are not expecting their 2024 sale to eclipse a sensational 2023 sale, when they averaged $14,509, but they are hopeful commercial producers will be willing to spend $10,000 to $12,000 for good bulls.
"Everyone knew the cattle market would come off but it is good to see it has rebounded back to $3.50-$4 a kilogram," he said. "Even when the markets were down, there were still good premiums for Angus."
Mr Nickolls says the 57 bulls they have catalogued are easily their most even sale draft and selected from 100 bulls they had to select from.
"We are trying to breed a moderate animal that will thrive anywhere with some depth and shape," he said. "We want cattle that rebreed easily and don't take too much to maintain but are still efficient on grain or grass."
