Demand from repeat clients dominated the Huntington Charbray sale at Taroom on Friday, where bulls sold to a top of $20,000.
Of the 59 bulls offered by the Welsh family, 49 sold under the hammer for a clearance rate of 83 per cent and average of $7286.
Top money came early in the draft, when the Davidson family of Roper Downs, Middlemount, landed the top bid on Huntington Q-Man (P/SC).
Sired by Acton Lyn Braydon L61 (P), the 20-month-old tipped the scales at 830 kilograms and measured 40 centimetres in the scrotum.
Boasting an eye muscle area of 135 square centimetres, the cream sire prospect also had P8 and rib fat depths of 10mm and 8mm respectively, and an intramuscular fat of 4.7pc.
Shortly after, Huntington Peace Maker was knocked down for the second-top price of $18,000 to Jason and Tanya Kerlin, Kerlin Pastoral Co, Bottle Tree Park, Taroom.
A son of Rosewood Idol, the 24-month-old weighed 914kg, measured 41cm in scrotal circumference, and had an EMA of 138sq cm.
A third-top price of $15,000 was achieved twice, with Huntington Paddington (P/SC) setting the tone of the sale as the first bull into the ring, being knocked down to the Pulsford family of Toogoolawah, while Huntington Party Boy (P) joins his stablemate at Kerlin Pastoral Co.
Several volume buyers put together drafts of new sires, with eight bulls headed to Charleville for an average of $4000 via Elite Livestock Auctions.
Kerlin Pastoral Co finished the day with a draft of five bulls to average $12,600, while Lance and Coleen Sypher, Glenmyra, Alpha, also selected five to average $5600.
Huntington co-principal Matt Welsh said they were happy with the strong average.
"It's what we can expect in the Charbray breed where we do have strong paddock demand but getting people to come along and appreciate bulls that you're putting through the ring is something we've still got to work towards," he said.
"There's some top-line bulls in what goes through the ring and it would be great to get more to see what's actually in the offering."
Despite their part of the world looking pretty dry at the moment, Mr Welsh said he thinks most producers feel positive about what's ahead.
"Our local support is growing, we're getting people recognising what we're doing and I think definitely some of the high prices around us has certainly made people think at home that putting a line of bulls together is quite expensive," he said.
"It's probably one of the most even line-ups of Charbray bulls you'd see anywhere, and we look over them and see particularly the phenotype of the animal is starting to emerge.
"I think we nailed it with the line-up today, so onward and upwards."
The sale was conducted by Nutrien Livestock, GDL and Elders, and interfaced through Elite Livestock Auctions.
