Hopgood Charolais may have been in two minds about selling Hopgood Notify but buyers didn't need to think twice when snapping up the 25-month-old bull.
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Hopgood Notify (P) (R/F) was the top priced bull at the stud's recent Clermont sale, fetching $7000 from D and G Brennan down in Boonah.
Elders studstock agent Michael Smith said it hadn't been an easy decision to offer Notify for sale.
"I've been doing that sale for seven or eight years now and he'd be as good a bull as they've taken up there," he said.
"They were in two minds about whether they even offered him for sale, or whether they retained him and used them in their own herd."
Notify, a red factor polled bull, was as good a calf as Hopgood Charolais had ever bred, Mark Hopgood said.
"He's by Palgrove Hallmark and there is a really strong demand for those kind of red factor bulls," he said.
"He had 144sqcm eye muscle and was 908kgs standing on a moderate frame. All his figures stacked up."
The Hopgood sale had a clearance rate of about 70 per cent across 47 lots and an average price of $4033.
Hopgood Need, a 24-month-old polled bull sired by Palgrove Kingdom (P), was the second top priced bull at the sale, going to Bennigang Grazing for $6500.
"Need is a powerful bull with great length," the sale catalogue read.
"He has a big strong topline and he stands over plenty of ground. This bull has excellent loin expression with tremendous thickness of hindquarter and width."
Rostron Grazing was the notable volume buyer at the sale, snapping up 10 bulls.
It was encouraging to see such a large number of buyers at the sale that had bought Hopgood bulls in the past, Mr Hopgood said.
"Probably about 85 per cent of buyers were repeat buyers at the sale, which is always good."
Buyers were interested in the stud's weight-for-age figures as well as the hardiness of the bulls and their ability to lay fat on quickly, he added.
Mr Smith said the Hopgood Charolais stud had invested heavily in quality genetics over the years.
"They are very well bred," he said.
"The Hopgoods have invested heavily in the bulls they are breeding and their new sires. They have top-shelf genetics in their cattle."
He also pointed out the large number of repeat buyers coming back for Hopgood bulls.
"There were a lot of repeat buyers that have been long-time supporters of that sale, with a sprinkling of new purchasers in among them," Mr Smith said.
"If you are successful in getting repeat buyers you've ticked one of the major boxes as far as breeding stud stock cattle is concerned."
