WHEN the final hammer fell at last week’s Little Meadows Angus on-property bull sale at Dardanup, it signified the close to a record-breaking sale for the Golding family’s stud on a number of fronts.
In the sale, prices hit a stud record high of $25,000 for a bull while the sale average of $10,285 marked the best ever recorded by the Golding family.
They presented an excellent line-up of 65 well-bred and well-grown bulls packed with leading international and Australian genetics and with buyers buoyed by good seasonal conditions and a record cattle market, they showed they weren’t afraid to bid up on the bulls they really wanted for their breeding programs.
Right throughout, the 56 registered buyers from as far east as Sandstone and Esperance and north to Bindoon, as well as across the border to Victoria buyers, were strong in their bidding and as a result more than half the bulls offered sold for more than $10,000 to buyers in the stands.
Like last year, it was again sequentially interfaced on AuctionsPlus where the catalogue received 1512 views which helped yield another 37 registered bidders logged in from New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and WA and an additional 61 guest viewers who viewed the sale.
There were 12 online bids placed across seven lots by two of the registered bidders which resulted in one bull being sold through the platform.
With strong bidding from the buyers from start to finish, when the final bull was knocked down by the joint Elders and Delaney Livestock Services selling team led by Elders auctioneer Pearce Watling, the stud had cleared all 65 bulls offered to 39 different buyers at a $10,285 average, which was up $3068 or 43pc on last year, which is a similar percentage increase producers have seen for their calves this season.
By comparison in last year’s sale the Goldings offered 63 bulls and sold 53 under the hammer for an average of $7217.
Mr Watling and Delaney Livestock Services’ Daniel Delaney both agreed it was a great result for the Golding family.
Mr Delaney said the Goldings offered a very good, even line-up of bulls which were a credit to them and from start to finish they were well supported by both existing and new clients.
Mr Watling said throughout the auction it was obvious that buyers knew the bulls they wanted and were prepared to pay for them.
“Like other sales this year buyers again showed they have recognised the value in investing in new genetics and buying top bulls due to where the cattle market currently sits,” Mr Delaney said.
It didn’t take long for the tone to be set when Little Meadows Redemption R1 entered the ring in lot one and Mr Watling found an opening bid of $15,000 on the well-made bull.
With the $22,000 second top-priced bull, Little Meadows Rhinestone R44, which sold to Kevin Armstrong, Candyup Farms, Boyup Brook, were Little Meadows stud’s Mostyn Golding (left), Elders auctioneer Pearce Watling and Delaney Livestock Services’ Daniel Delaney.
And from there, there was only one way to go and that was up and up it went beyond $20,000 before finally stopping at $25,000 when Mr Delaney placed the winning bid.
When this occurred Mr Delaney, who was taking buying instructions over the phone, announced the bull was headed to the Collins family, Merridale Angus stud, Tennyson, Victoria.
The AI-bred, late March 2020-drop bull is by Te Mania Newly N549 and out of Little Meadows Edwina P220, which is a daughter of Kansas Aberdeen F84.
Peter Collins said Redemption R1 marks the first bull they have purchased from the Little Meadows stud but they were no strangers to their genetics or their breeding program.
“We have worked in together with the Goldings before in terms of buying females and doing embryo programs,” Mr Collins said.
“I really liked what I saw in this bull.
“He is an upstanding sire with good size, plenty of growth, thickness and softness.
“He is a good all round bull in my eyes.
“He also has really good figures which is a bonus as you really have to like what you see before you look at the figures.”
Along with a great presence and a great shape Redemption R1 also had an equally impressive set of EBVs which ranks it in the top 5pc of the breed for calving ease daughters (CE Dtrs) (+8.4), top 8pc feed efficiency (NFI-F) (-0.26), top 9pc gestation length (GL) (-8.0) and milk (+24), top 10pc mature cow weight (MCW) (+129), top 13pc 400-day weight (+104), top 15pc 600-day weight (+135) and top 18pc carcase weight (CWT) (+76).
Also passing the $20,000 mark was another Newly N549 son, Little Meadows Rhinestone R44, in lot 15 when it sold at $22,000 to Kevin Armstrong, Candyup Farms, Boyup Brook.
Rhinestone R44 ranks in the top 11pc for milk, top 13pc EMA, top 14pc CE Dtrs, top 15pc rib fat and top 18pc birthweight (BWT).
After securing Rhinestone R44 Mr Armstrong then went on to purchase another Newly N549 son, Little Meadows Red Rock R50 in lot 16 for $15,000.
Red Rock R50 ranks in the top 6pc for EMA and P8 fat, top 11pc rib fat, top 20pc days to calving plus top 23pc milk and IMF.
Mr Armstrong said Mr Watling had looked over the bulls before the sale and picked these two out for him.
“When I saw them I was very happy with what he had chosen,” Mr Armstrong said.
“We were particularly chasing the Newly N549 bloodline as it has pretty good calving ease traits as we wanted bulls we could use over beef heifers in our usual joining program for the special mated female sales.”
When it came to his top price purchase, Mr Armstrong said Rhinestone R44 was his pick of the bulls.
“He is a lovely thick bull with plenty of muscle and a low birthweight,” Mr Armstrong said.
In the sale Little Meadows, which is one of only five studs in Australia to have exclusive rights to Newly N549, sold 12 sons for an average of $15,083, which included the day’s two top-priced bulls.
The third highest price achieved was $18,000 and it was recorded when Rimbold, Pinjarra, was written down as the buyer next to the deep, thick Little Meadows Rear Admiral R148.
The June 2020-drop Little Meadows Pavlich P2 son ranks in the top 10pc for calving ease direct (CE Dir), top 14pc CE Dtrs top 18pc GL as well as top 26-32pc for 200, 400 and 600-day weights, CWT, P8 fat and docility.
The Pinjarra operation also purchased a second bull, a Booroomooka Bartel K320 son for $13,000.
There were four other bulls to sell at more than $15,000 and they all sold at $16,000.
Two were sons of Baldrigde Beast Mode B074, one was a Newly N549 son and one was by Prime Nirvana N33.
The Prime Nirvana N33 son was part of a team of four purchased by Semini Enterprises, Cowaramup, at an average of $11,375.
The two Beast Mode B074 sons to make $16,000 were purchased by Willarty Angus, Pinjarra and HM & OE Hopkins, Busselton, which also secured a Nirvana N33 son at $15,000.
The Newly N549 son was bought by B & D Telini, Dardanup, which also paid $10,000 for a Little Meadows Philander P19 son.
The volume buyers were return clients David and Vicki McQuie, Bulga Downs station, Sandstone.
The McQuie family, who run Angus breeders on the station, purchased eight bulls at an average of $5125.
There were two other buyers who purchased more than two bulls from the catalogue and they were Alcoa Farmlands, Wagerup and Pinjarra and the Hough family, 5PH Grazing, Esperance.
Alcoa Farmlands manager Vaughn Byrd purchased four bulls for the operation, which runs 4000 breeders that are mainly Angus, to a high of $12,000 and average of $9250.
Mr Byrd said this year marked the fourth year they had purchased from Little Meadows and they returned because the bulls they had purchased in the past had good growth and carcase traits.
When it came to the Hough family they also went home with a team of four bulls.
They paid a top of $13,000 and an average of $8750 for their selections.
Buyer Peter Hough said they had been buying from the stud for more than 10 years and have always had good results.
“We like the longevity of the Little Meadows cattle and they also produce good females,” Mr Hough said.
The Houghs run 700 Angus breeders and have a summer and winter calving.
Normally they carry all their calves through to yearlings and sell them off grass but this season Mr Hough said due to the position of the cattle market they had changed their marketing program.
“We have already sold any calves with weight to lotfeeders while we will carry the lightweights through and sell them as yearlings,” Mr Hough said.
Other buyers to have an influence on the sale buying two bulls and averaging $10,500 for their purchases were Moran & Co, Albany; G & CR Musitano, Australind and Jacor Farms, Donnybrook.
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