WITH the big prices being paid for bulls this season sparking increased interest in insurance, the message for producers is make sure you are clear on what is covered, get a standardised veterinary bull check and understand the limits of stud guarantees.
Bull averages, across numerous breeds, have jumped $2000 or 25 per cent on last year with many averaging more $10,000.
“Producers are thinking they’ve invested more than they usually do so they had better look to safeguard that investment,” said Nathan Fairley, from big stud stock insurer Elders Rockhampton.
Speaking after having just signed off on an insurance package for 50 bulls for one client, he said his organisation’s bull insurance figures were up 10 to 15pc across the board on last year.
He estimated around 50pc of bulls were now insured, saying it was rare for any animal purchased for more than $10,000 not to be insured.
Most studs offer a guarantee on the structural soundness of their bulls, generally for 12 months but some for up to three years, and Mr Fairley said they were typically upheld.
“I haven’t heard any bad stories there - studs are selling their reputation as much as their bulls,” he said.
However, insurance covers something unforeseen happening after the sale and veterinarians say it is much more likely a problem will warrant an insurance claim rather than a claim on a guarantee.
Cattle veterinarians said the primary step to minimising purchaser liable losses was a pre-sale examination.
Bullcheck, or the Veterinary Bull Breeding and Soundness Examination (VBBSE), works out to cost the producer around $1.20 to $1.50 per calf, which makes it cheap insurance, said Junee cattle producer and large animal veterinarian Dr Peter Armstrong.
The check covers a crush-side examination covering structure, penis a sheath health, scrotal palpation and semen testing.
A high percentage of bulls culled from a VBBSE don’t make it past the crush-side exam.
The check then goes on to a serving ability test, nutrition and vaccinations.
Queensland cattle veterinarian Dr Alan Guilfoyle, from Clermont, said seedstock producers typically provided the Bullcheck and buyers should look for the vet summaries in catalogues.
If buying in a paddock sale, insist on having it done, he said.
“It’s not an absolute guarantee but it says this bull has everything in place, all the ducks are lining up and he has a very good chance of doing the job you want,” Dr Guilfoyle said.
“Insurance companies are now insisting on this before insuring a bull,” he said.
“The bull becomes a good insurance risk for them if he has the certificate.”
Where the bull returned a semen morphology test over 70pc (considered very good), the failure rate of bulls was typically very small, Dr Guilfoyle said.
However, there will always be some bulls that fail due to reasons such as illness and accidents, which are the responsibility of the purchaser.
Bull insurance offsets that risk.
The going rate for insurance appears to be around 12.5pc of the value of the bull and Dr Guilfoyle said, depending on how different beef operations were placed, it was generally considered a good idea, at least until a crop of calves was on the ground.
The main thing to distinguish was whether a policy was for mortality alone or loss of use, he said.
The Australian Cattle Veterinarians (ACV) points out it was also important to be aware that loss of use policies often required the bull to be totally and permanently incapable of natural service and that it be due to an identifiable event.
Sometimes loss of bull use occurs that is not permanent or total, or has no identifiable event, and that can be an issue if the the bull is still useless for the purpose intended.
Dr Guilfoyle said keeping accurate records, of everything from number of cows served to treatments and vaccinations, was also a good idea.
“The old adage ‘measure and manage’ rings true here,” he said.
