Being forced to shift to an online format may have caused some sleepless nights for the Godfrey family, but the results of their NT Senepols Invitational Sale on Monday speak for themselves.
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Offering 33 bulls, 31 sold to a top price of $10,000, for a clearance rate of 91 per cent and average of $5700 - up from $4886 in 2019.
The top price came late in the sale when the Atkinson family, Corumburra Pastotal, Marlborough, purchased GODQ90035 Namoona Queenton from Namoona Trig Senepols, Casino, NSW.
Sired by GODL50088 Namoona Lleyton Hewitt and out of GODK40056 Namoona Kyogle, the 16-month-old weighed 580 kilograms and measured 35 centimetres in scrotal circumference, with an eye muscle area of 124sq cm, intramuscular fat of 5.0 per cent, and rib and P8 fat depths of 8mm and 10mm respectively.
The Atkinsons also paid the second-top price of $9500 for 20-month-old GODP80066 Namoona Phillip.
Sired by GODH2003 Namoona Charles Barkley and out of GODH20057 Namoona Joy H20057, the bull weighed 724kg, with a scrotal circumference of 36cm, 5.1 IMF, and EMA of 131sq cm.
The Atkinsons put together a draft of four bulls for an average of $7500.
Silverleigh Senepols also achieved the second-top price with their offering, GLPP80010 Silverleigh Pink Floyd.
Purchased by the Perrett family, Rolleston, the 22-month-old sired by PHAB03 PHA Bob Marley (ET) weighed 957kg, with a scrotal measurement of 37cm, 5.5 IMF, and EMA of 134 sq cm.
The Perrett family put together a draft of five bulls for an average of $7250.
Top volume buyers were the Hollitts family of Coonanbarra, Mingoola, NSW, purchasing six new sires for a $4417 average.
Namoona Trig Senepols stud principal Blair Godfrey said they were extremely happy with the sale results.
"Having to go online only, we were pretty concerned about how it would go, but it's actually our best sale to date - best clearance and best average," he said.
"We went into the day knowing that we had homes for half of them but didn't expect to go 91 (per cent clearance)."
Mr Godfrey put the success down to the consistency of their lineup, particularly in the younger bulls.
"Usually we find that the younger end of the draft are the harder ones to sell and this year they went every bit as good, with the top priced one coming out of that younger portion," he said.
"We normally do the sale at Rockhampton so those northern buyers are our normal buyers, but the fact that the bulls were actually based at home at Casino and we offered the free freight within 200 kilometres, we picked up a few more that went around our local area at home."
- Selling agents: SBB/GDL and AuctionsPlus.
