After three years plagued by COVID-19 restrictions, Western Australian buyers were able to return to the Droughtmaster National Sale, with one stud making their eastern trip well worth it, purchasing some top quality bulls across the two-day sale.
The team from Munda Reds Droughtmaster stud, based near Port Hedland in Western Australia, travelled to Rockhampton for the national sale for the first time in four years after deciding that they needed to introduce some fresh genetics into their operation, and that Queensland was the place to find them.
Stud Manager Ben Wright said that there were a number of sires that the team had picked out before attending the sale, with some specific traits that they wished to breed into their own herd.
"We were due for a bit of a freshen up in genetics, and we were able to do that for sure," he said.
"We had a pretty strict picture of what we wanted and what sort of traits we were chasing in the bulls.
"We were looking for bulls with a good sheath, we've been finding it very hard to see anything on the market in WA with that kind of sheath."
Across the two days, Munda Reds purchased six bulls at an average price of $64,000, committing more than $380,000 to ensure they took home some of the top bulls on offer, including the second-top priced sire, Rondel Black Tuxedo, which they purchased in partnership with John Atkinson and Duncan Geddes.
Munda Reds had notable success at their own bull sale earlier this year, which Mr Wright said encouraged them to chase some top-notch genetics at the national sale, sparing no expense.
"Our first ever on-property sale this year probably performed above what we expected and that is a result of people starting to get a bit more confidence in the Droughties over here," he said.
"The cattle market everywhere, even in WA, has been the highest we've ever seen and people are a lot happier to spend more money on improving their herds.
"We are constantly trying to advance our herd further."
As well as their stud stock, the team run a commercial herd of around 6000 breeders at Mundabullangana Station.
The out of state buyers also had free rein over the entire catalogue at this year's sale, after it was announced late last year that the Johne's Beef Assurance Score (J-BAS) was no longer a part of WA's import conditions.
Mr Wright said the easing of J-BAS limitations allowed them to select bulls from a much wider range, which had a significant effect on their purchases.
"We were definitely able to tap in genetics that we hadn't bought before," he said.
