Simmental bulls sold to $20,000 at Illabo

The sale topped at $20,000 for a traditional Simmental bull from the Wormbete stud, while the Valley Creek team topped the females with a stylish black heifer at $19,000, with 38 of 40 bulls averaging $10,026 and 23 of 25 heifers averaging $8543.

The $19,000 heifer, broke the record for the Simmental breed as the highest priced Simmental female sold at auction in Australia.

In the split, Wormbete Simmentals sold 32 of 34 black and traditional bulls to a sale top of $20,000; averaging $10,188, along with 19 of 21 traditional females to a top of $18,000, averaging $7316, while Valley Creek Simmentals sold all six black bulls to a $14,000 top to average $9167 and four of four black heifers to a top of $19,000 to average an impressive $14375.

The top bull, Wormbete Rusty R97, a son of Wormbete Notredam N70 sold to Patty and Jim Doelle, Milky Way Simmentals, Edenhope, Victoria, for $20,000.

Rusty R97 weighed 582kg and was homozygous polled, with exceptional growth and softness from an August 2020 calf.

Mrs Doelle said they were chasing the homozygous polled genetics for their herd and believed that the style of the Wormbete cattle complimented their herd and what they were breeding down south.

"He and his two mates will be used over our stud and commercial herds to further improve our poll program", she said.

The Doelle's also paid $18,000 and $12,000 for another two sires including one of the first sons of Sunny Valley Canon 86E to be sold in Australia.

Bill and Susan Cornell, St Pauls Genetics, Henty, paid $19,000 for a stylish black heifer from the Valley Creek stable, to top the female draft at $19,000.

She was VC Strike R030, a daughter of VC Payton, going back to the highly sought after Lancaster Strike K176 female line.

Mr Cornell said he loved the Strike family, and they already have two at home, but R30 was exactly what they needed to add to the herd.

"She is a heifer with real class and pizzazz and as we ramp up the program on EPDs and EBVS we also want to have outstanding phenotype; and R30 gives us this."

"It is a plan to flush her and put her in calf and then take her to the Simmental feature breed at the 2022 Sydney Show, which is the celebration of 50 years of the Simmental breed in Australia," he said.

Pasa Toro Pty Ltd, Dulacca, Queensland, lead the interstate charge on bulls, paying to $19,000 for Wormbete Russell R76, a complete young black sire with traits focusing on calving ease, gestation length and fertility.

Brendan Gilliland, Dalby, then unloaded on three black sires by the infamous Woonallee Lumberjack sire, paying $16,000, $16,000 and $10,000 to also load them on the truck to head North, while The Laycock family, Clay Gully Simmentals, Kipper via Esk, QLD, loaded three traditional bulls to $11,000 top to average $7000.

Knox Farms, Crookwell, paid $15,000 for a 646kg Tugulawa Lance son, along with three traditional heifers averaging 12,667, including an $18,000 young August heifer with frame and shape by the same sire line.

In the wrap up JN Laurie, Rawson Vale, bought two black bulls for $8000 and $9000, Elite Simmentals, Meandarra, QLD, paid $14,000 for a black heifer, Thomas Degarsi Clarkson, Wannon, Vic, paid $17,000 for another VC black heifer, while Brewer Beef, Tallangatta Valley, Vic paid $15,000 for a new red sire.

Rounding out the sale S and E Muller, Illabo bought a black bull for $11,000 and two traditional heifers for $6000 and $6500, while Luke Scicluna, Tamworth, bought three traditional heifers averaging $8333 and 10 semen stras in the Sunny Valley Canon 896E sire for $200 per straw.

The sale was conducted by Nutrien Wagga Wagga with Hamish McGeoch as the auctioneer.