The first Performance Limousin sale, held at Windera, forged ahead on Saturday despite the South Burnett region copping a battering with heavy rainfall and flooding the day before.
34 bulls and four females were offered by Paul and Kelli Forman of Oakwood Limousins, Bundaberg, Darren and Shelly Hartwig of Gold Crest Limousins, Crows Nest, and sale hosts, David and Jess Eagleson of Ulster Limousins, Windera.
The 28 Limousin bulls achieved an average of $11,619, while the six Limousin Droughtmaster cross sires averaged $7333.
The sale saw a clearance of 70 per cent, which vendors believe was most likely influenced by flooding in the area, preventing some buyers from attending.
Lot two, Gold Crest Cutt Masta Rambo, was the top priced bull on the day, purchased by Lawrence Hack, Rocklea, Alpha, for $20,000.
Mr Lawrence, a repeat buyer of Gold Crest Limousins, said the two bulls that he purchased on the day "ticked all the boxes".
"They were structurally sound bulls that will pass on their progeny and make good looking cattle that will finish well," he said.
Speaking of the top-priced 26-month-old sire, Mr Hack said he was bound for a commercial herd of mainly Limousin and Charolais cross females, "with a splash of Droughtmaster and Brahman".
"He was a well structured bull, looks like he'll fit well into my operation and blend well with my cattle," he said.
Mr Hack said they were enjoying one of the best seasons he had ever seen and was looking forward to taking home his new additions.
Vendor Darren Hartwig said he and Shelly were very happy with the sale results, in particular their older sires.
"We were very happy with the way our two year old bulls sold, particularly that lot two, we were very happy with him," he said.
"He scanned really well, he has good figures, and that's pretty much exactly what we're trying to breed.
"We had a few littler bulls and we expected the market to be tougher for them, so we're not surprised that they didn't do quite as well.
"It was good to see the uniformity of the bulls, they were similar types of bulls, bred for similar conditions."
The couple have been breeding Limousins for seven years and said they were thrilled with the number of repeat buyers who purchased their bulls on the day.
"We had our repeat buyers who had bought our bulls out of the paddock in the past, so that was great to see, especially those buyers from the western areas," Mr Hartwig said.
"Repeat buyers coming back for our bulls is what makes us most excited."
David Eagleson, Ulster Limousins, agreed that the support from repeat buyers was well appreciated, particularly given the last minute scramble with flood conditions leading up to the sale.
"For a first sale, it went pretty well," Mr Eaglson said.
"Unfortunately the amount of rain that we had yesterday did affect it, with a heap of roads being flooded, it probably put a bit of pressure on it, but it has been very well supported.
"There were a lot of repeat buyers, so it's good to see that the bulls are doing the job for people. Going forward, we're hoping to build and have more bulls next year."
Mr Eagleson also said that the current threat of foot and mouth disease was likely causing some hesitation amongst those in the stud beef industry.
"A lot of people said they were here today to have a look and were keen to buy in the future," he said.
"I think people are probably a bit nervous with the FMD situation and that's causing some problems for people.
"But overall, I think the sale did go very well today."
Bulls were bought by local graziers, as well as those in the south-west and central Queensland areas, with one online buyer purchasing from Scone, New South Wales.
- Selling agent: Eagleson and Co Livestock and Realty
- Guest auctioneer: Innes Fahey
- Simulcast on Elite Livestock Auctions
