NOT only did it pour rain at the Morgan family’s The Grove bull sale, Myall Grove, Condamine last week, but the money also flowed in at a $58,000 record level for their feature Shorthorn bull, The Grove KO182 (P).
Their first ‘wet’ bull sale in 33 years proved the catalyst for their dual record breaking fixture after 127 bulls averaged a record $8425 and saw the highest on-property money paid for a The Grove Shorthorn bull.
Another interesting sale statistics included 50 successful purchasers from three states – Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia – and an influx of several new buyers introducing The Grove genetics to their herds. One such first-timer was the Trafalgar Farming Company at Dirranbandi which bought a dozen bulls for a $5083 average.
The majority of the catalogue was sold utilising the electronic Helmsman system with a handful of bulls auctioned by Geoff Maslen of GDL at Roma which included the $58,000 top selling bull.
A sale breakdown revealed 87 Shorthorn bulls averaged $9282, 11 yearling Shorthorn bulls averaged $8005, the same number of yearling Durham Black bulls averaged $6682, half-a-dozen Durham Black bulls averaged $5583 and a dozen Durham Reds averaged $5667.
High profile interstate seed stock producer Sandy Munro, Weebollabolla Shorthorn stud, Moree, NSW bid the $58,000 record money for The Grove KO182 (P), a low birth weight son of Weebollabolla Goodar G105 (P) with curve-bending growth performance which was also the highest indexing bull at $83 for the MSA-B2 index.
Mr Munro described KO182 as a very powerful phenotype bull with outstanding figures with exceptional thickness throughout. At two years of age he weighed 950kg, scanned 12mm (Rump) and eight mm (Rib), measured 42 cm for scrotal circumference with an EMA of 132 and 6.1 percent for IMF.
He said KO182 will spearhead his current program and will be the benchmark over a large cow base to more accurately meet market specifications especially for the branded Shorthorn product, Thousand Guineas Beef, which was attracting a premium.
Mr Munro also outlaid $25,000 for another son of Weebollabolla Goodar with similar high ranking market index values and explosive growth performance with similar raw data but recorded 6.8 percent for IMF.
The $21,000 top selling yearling Shorthorn bull, The Grove LO140 (P,) was also Moree bound and also featured Weebollabolla blood on his sire line being a grandson of Weebollabolla Theodore T85 which exhibited great bone and balance with a thick hindquarter.
Large scale commercial beef producers Mick and Patrick Gibson, Gibson Family Partnership, Dalby paid $22,000 for The Grove KO391 (P), a quality red son of The Grove Tide-Rip E667 (P) which weighed 945kg and scanned 7.2% for IMF.
Regular buyers, Campbell and Roz Brownlie, Brownlie Grazing Company, Condamine put together another quality of nine Shorthorn bulls for a hefty $10,277 average.
Another repeat buyer was John Brownlie, Deepwater Farming, Deepwater, Meandarra who was also active on the elite end of the Shorthorn draft selecting six bulls for a creditable $11,833 average.
- Agents: Landmark and GDL
