Dry weather created a tough selling environment for this year’s Carabar Angus on-property bull sale at Meandarra, Queensland on Tuesday.
Sale Summary
- $5898 sale av.
- $11,000 top price (twice)
- 68pc clearance rate
Overall, the Hegarty family’s stud beef cattle sale reached a top price of $11,000 twice with a clearance rate of 68 percent.
In total the sale grossed $348,000 and recorded an overall average price of $5898 during the sale.
A top price was reached during the first lot of the sale with 22-month-old Carabar Ultra M83 bull who was purchased for $11,000 by Allan and Glenn Kelly, Bowenville.
The top priced bull was sired by QHEG99 Carabar Ultra G99 (AI) (ET) sire and out of QHEG191 Carabar Diana G191 cow, who was sired by Carabar Elite E35 (AI) (ET).
The bull also boasted excellent finishing figures with a 600-day weight gain Breedplan result in the top 71 percent of the Angus breed.
In addition, the Carabar Ultra bull weighed in at 924 kilograms with 11 millimetres of fat on the rump and 8 millimetres of fat on the rib area, plus an eye muscle area of 112 centimetres squared and scrotal measurement of 41cm.
Equal $11,000 top priced bull of the sale was Carabar Berkley M63 (ET) who was bought by the Vagg family, BK Pastoral, Wooroolin near Kingaroy. The bull was sired by VTMB1 Te Mania Berkley B1 (AI) and out of QHEG104 Carabar Heather G104 (AI) cow, who was sired by Carabar Docklands D62 (AI) bull.
The sire had a low calf birth weight Breedplan figure in the top 75 percent of the breed and weighed in at 882kg with 14mm of fat on the rump and 8mm of fat on the rib area, plus a solid eye muscle area 125cm sq and scrotal measurement of 40cm.
Related story: Angus bull breaks QLD breed price record
Volume buyer of the sale was Doce, Roma who bought eight lots.
Sale agents were Elders.
Sire temperament attracts bull buyers
The two bulls topping Carabar Angus bull sale were picked on their quite temperament according to the stud principals buying the sires.
The first bull in the sale ring rocketed to a top price of $11,000 and was purchased by Allan and Glenn Kelly, Bowenville.
Allan Kelly has always admired Carabar Angus genetics for the calm temperament cattle the stud’s sires produced in their progeny, a claim Mr Kelly can back-up after buying a Carabar Angus bull at the stud’s first sale almost 20 years ago.
“The bull offered a great package with a very docile temperament, structural soundness with good depth of flank, plus a sizable scrotal measurement,” Glenn Kelly said.
The bull will now head into the Kelly family’s beef cattle breeding operation at joining time in Spring where they produce steers and cull heifers for the domestic feedlot market.
“We’ve sold our cattle earlier than usual this year as grown weaner steers and heifers due to the going dry conditions in our region at present,” Mr Kelly said.
The family mainly market the cattle they breed out of their Angus-cross commercial cow herd through the Dalby and Toowoomba saleyards.
“I believe the Hegarty family has specialized in producing sires with excellent, quite temperaments and we always find the calm nature passes onto the progeny,” Mr Kelly said.
Buying the other top priced $11,000 bull was the Vagg family, BK Pastoral, Wooroolin near Kingaroy.
“The Carabar Angus bull we’ve bought has a very docile temperament that we highly value in our commercial cattle,” Bevan Vagg said.
The Vagg family have purchased three bulls previously from Carabar with calves by the sires producing improved weaners for their beef cattle operation.