Te Mania Angus Walgett Bull Sale – in person and online – Is a real cracker

BEEF producers and breeders turn their backs on a drought not long gone – and Covid-19 –  at the annual Te Mania Angus northern bull sale at Walgett on Tuesday (August 11).

An enthusiastic gallery of almost 100 socially-distanced producers was joined virtually by Queensland and Victorian buyers to see 111 bulls offered and sold to a high of $24,000 and average of $10,604.

Hamish said for the NSW and Queensland beef industry it was “an enormous vote of confidence in their own regions as they bounce back from drought, determined to rebuild herds with even better genetic profiles”.

“What’s more, the discerning buyers went gunning for our homebred next-generation sires; bulls bred for Australian conditions, with 22 sons of Te Mania Kirby selling for an average of $12,500 – over and above the 23 Kirby sons which sold in our Autumn sale averaging $11,565.

“No question, our clients see their genetics as a strategic investment, not a cost, and they didn’t hesitate on the bulls they wanted.

“Clients old and new took home multiple choices.

Hamish said the other quantum leap on the day was the demand online from Victorian and Queensland buyers locked out by Covid-19 restrictions.

He said more than 300 registered with Auctions Plus for the sale, with 50 bulls knocked down to remote buyers, many after rapid-fire bidding duels.

“Like the buyers who were able to make it to the sale, remote buyers were also after homebred bulls first and were as much a part of the day as those present with the live bulls and the auctioneer,” Hamish added.

“It also showed the confidence buyers have in digital bull sales and using all the selection tools provided – the full range of EBVs, individual videos of every bull in the sale and the power of the Te Mania Angus brand in the commercial and seedstock markets,” he said.

“Long time clients Aldingham Family Trust at Winton put together an impressive line-up of 11 bulls while Morella Agriculture from Goondiwindi purchased eight bulls.

“Other bulls on AuctionsPlus sold to Wandoan, Bungunya and Condamine in Queensland and as far south as Camperdown, Trafalgar and Cardinia in Victoria.”

Lot 5, Te Mania Pythagoras P44, the top-priced bull, went to a syndicate led by Ben Hill, Bulliac Angus at Miles in Queensland. He was joined by Ardrossan Angus, Talmalmo and Ben Nevis Angus, Walcha.

A strong, stylish son of Te Mania Kirby K138, P44 stood out with good body length and shape, excellent structure and strong EBVs right across the board, including IMF of +4.5 (top 1% of the breed).

After the sale Ben commented that P44 had impressed for his structure and beautiful top line with plenty of width through his rump and down to his thigh.  His very high IMF and excellent data set is what we were chasing for our breeding programs.”

Lot 3 (Te Mania Parenthesis P446) sold to a syndicate made up of Dunoon Angus, Holbrook; Booragul Angus, Tamworth; Waitara Angus, Trangie and Knowla Livestock, Gloucester, for $22,000.

An eye catching son of Te Mania Kirk K226, P44 is a high calving ease, high fertility and high growth bull, ranked in the top 1 per cent of the breed for all four $indexes. The four sons of Te Mania Kirk averaged $13,750, and have met strong demand in sales over recent years.

Hamish said all buyers got physical possession of their bulls but no semen marketing rights. He said bulls can only be used within the herds of individual owners and/or syndicate members.

Local producers Michael and Annie O’Brien of the Brigalows, Walgett, once again shopped in the top end of the catalogue, taking home seven bulls. Hit by seven years of drought, the O’Briens have managed their breeding herd between their Roma property and the Brigalows, with the heifer portion now at Walgett and will be joined by the newly acquired bulls.

“This was a solid sale from first lot to last; it is also certainly a sale which showed the pairing of data and the digital world is going to increasingly play a major role in the beef genetics industry and gave us confirmation we are heading in the right direction with our homebred bulls” Hamish added.

Agents were Clemson Hiscox and the auctioneer was Paul Dooley.

Catering was in support of Barwon CWA for a medical grant made available to medical and allied health students.

Photos by Leanne Hall, The Mole.
Header photo: Ben Hill (Bulliac Angus, Miles Qld), Hamish McFarlane (TMA), Ben Hooper (AuctionsPlus), Russell Hiscox (Clemson Hiscox), Amanda McFarlane (TMA) and Paul Dooley (Auctioneer)