Wagyu PTIC heifer sells for $60,000 at Beef '24

Held at the Rockhampton Showgrounds on Tuesday evening, the sale catalogue featured 23 lots, with both male and female Wagyu on offer, as well as semen and embryos.

The sale hit a high point, when a fullblood heifer offered by the Grose family of 3D Genetics, Bukkulla, New South Wales, sold under the hammer for a sale top price of $60,000.

The heifer, 3D Genetics S0080, was nearing three-year-old and was purchased via AuctionsPlus by JKS Wagyu at Theodore.

The high indexing, recessive free daughter of Mayura Itoshigenami JNR, was pregnancy-tested-in-calf to AI sire Irongate Michifuku F126 JNR M352 and due to drop her calf on May 23.

Joe Grose said the family purchased two semen straws of Itoshigenami JNR, resulting in 150 calves, and the top price heifer was the highest indexing animal of the group.

The heifer was in the top per cent for breeder feeder index at $528.

Mr Grose described the sale as "fair buying" in today's cattle market.

"I think it was a reasonably predictable result. We're not in the heat of two years ago and this stage of the cycle, I believe it was fair buying for the lots," he said.

Mr Grose said they have 1200 Fullblood Wagyu bulls running around the country joining about 50,000 commercial cows in 2024, running their own in-house genomic genetic analysis.

A $50,000 bid online secured the top price Wagyu bull, HP Wagyu U0347, a 14-month-old son of HP Wagyu Reliable R0157 and out of Mayura L0032.

Offered for sale by commercial and seedstock Wagyu producers Cameron and Hannah Hewitt of HP Wagyu, Taroom, the fullblood bull was purchased by Kuro Kin Wagyu, Scone, NSW, a producer of elite fullblood and F1 Wagyu cattle and a major Australian brand of AAAW Group.

The top price semen package, 10 straws from HP Wagyu Shinken U0301, offered by HP Wagyu, sold to a top of $3750/straw, to Red Gum Wagyu.

A top price of $2000 was paid for an embryo package from Itoshigenami and Bar H M1912, which was offered by the Hornery family of Bar H Grazing, Comet, and purchased by JR Pastoral Pty Ltd.

Overall, six bulls out of the 11 offered sold to average $25,166, four heifers out of the six offered sold to average $23,250, 35 semen units averaged $1324, while four embryo packages averaged $1900/unit.

The sale was conducted by Elders and interfaced on AuctionsPlus, which recorded 84 registered bidders.