Charolais females have sold to a top of $12,250 in Glenlea Charolais' online female sale, hailed as a drought buster event.
The sale, held on Thursday April 18 as an AuctionsPlus only event, included the dispersal of daughter stud, Orara Waterfall Charolais.
Cattle and genetics sold to South Australia, Victoria, Queensland and NSW, with both repeat buyers and new clients taking an interest.
The top price was fetched by autumn calved cow Glenlea Charol 72nd (P), with heifer calf at foot, who sold to volume buyer Grant Taylor Livestock, Nowra, NSW.
Mr Taylor was the top volume buyer of the sale, picking up 17 lots, including the two top prices in the spring calved section.
He said he only runs about 35 head of cattle, so he was focusing on quality genetics and had built a relationship with stud principal Roderick Binny in recent years.
"He's just produced a great line of calves, heifers and bulls this year," he said.
"I plan to keep what I've bought from that line and hopefully the cows I've selected will be the matriarchs of the herd."
Mr Taylor plans to use the cows in his breeding program and hopes to send some of the progeny to Charolais World Congress 2020 in Brisbane.
Spring calved cow and calf units sold to $11,250, to average $4659. The top price of the section was claimed by Orara Waterfall Bop Bop 1st (P), sired by senior herdsire LV Grandiose (P), with a 425kg June born heifer calf at side.
The next top price in the section was $10,750 for Orara Waterfall Nolana 10th (P), sired by Glenlea Hilton, with a 461kg June born bull calf.
Autumn calved cows and calves averaged $4239.
Mr Binny said incentives offered up for the sale were the key to the results, given most buyers were facing challenges because of drought.
"We try to make it as easy as possible to do business with us," he said.
"A lot of repeat buyers did say that without the incentives they wouldn't have been there."
Mr Binny said top-priced Glenlea Charol 72nd (P) had produced excellent calves, including a bull calf that was now a herd sire with international interest.
"She's an exceptional female and every calf she's had has been top of the drop," he said.
Joined females twice hit a top of $4500, with homozygous polled heifer PTIC Orana Waterfall Halina 2nd, bought by PL Corfield, Charters Towers, and red factor polled heifer Orara Waterfall Isabella 4th , bought by Joe Sfarra, Currency Creek, SA claiming the honours. Joined females averaged $3139.
Meanwhile 11 out of 14 show prospect heifers sold to an average of $3022 with a top of $4250 for Glenlea Lola 1st, sired by impact carcass sire Glenlea Jeddi (P), bought by Greg Cole Denman, Ellerslie Cattle Co, NSW.
Repeat volume buyer Chris Hall, Nymboida, took selected six lots from the spring calved section to a top of $4000 and eight lots from the autumn calved section to a top of $4750 for Glenlea Charol 78th (P) (R/F).
Lachlan Dickson, Chelbrook Charolais, Biloela, took home three lots from the autumn calved section to a top of $4500 along with two lots from the spring calving section to a top of $6250.
Seven out of eight flushes in donor cows sold to average $3829 and top at $5000 for Rebby Cigar 14th (P), bought by Sam Taylor, Allednaw Charolais, Kerang, Victoria. One post-sale negotiation led to the sale of a flush to losing bidder, Faraway Charolais, North Carolina, USA
"It's very rare for any genetics to flow back to North America from Australia," Mr Binny said.