The sheer strength of the demand for Angus females is in clear evidence across the industry with both seedstock and commercial producers realising the gains that Angus females have to offer their herds.
Following a phenomenal 2016 where Angus females broke record after record, 2017 is following in the same vein. The national herd continues to rebuild itself and the astute cattle man or woman is choosing to build their herd on the back of an Angus female with superior fertility, maternal performance, calving ease and overall marketability.
Western Australia Angus females have continued their record breaking ways.
On April 5th 2017, $4,100 was paid for for a pen of five Angus cows with calves offered by Gary and Julie Buller at the Monterey Ladies Day sale, Karridale WA.
Purchased by Rob Italiano, Harvey WA, the cows had calves at foot by Vermont E193.
Another five preg-tested-in-calf (PTIC) Angus cows also made $4,100, when purchased by P & S Barbetti, Waterloo.
$3,800 was paid for a further four Angus cows PTIC by Rob Italiano, Harvey WA.
Prior to this, the record for commercial Angus cows with calves was $3,400 for a pen of 11 four year old cows with calves at foot, offered at the Millah Murrah Angus commercial female sale near Bathurst New South Wales on November 3rd 2005. These cow and calf units were purchased by Malcolm McLaurin, Corrie Vale Pastoral Company, ‘Greylands’, Cowra, NSW.
Earlier in the year $3,650 was paid at the Boyanup Landmark Specially Selected Breeders Sale, WA for eight PTIC Commercial Angus heifers. The heifers were offered by Mark and Peta-Jane Harris & family, Treeton Lake, Cowaramup, WA and purchased by Michael and Frances Armstrong, Northcliffe, WA.
$3,100 was paid for five Angus cross cows and calves offered by D & A Campbell at Boyanup on April 24th.
In Sale Vic, on May 5th $3,320 was paid for first calf Angus heifers and $3,100 for second calf Angus cows offered by J& J Rodriguez. While Betty Roche sold 12 Angus cows and calves at the Tumut NSW saleyards on April 12th.
At the Hunter Valley Angus Breeders Association Sale, NSW on May 25th, $3,650 was paid for Angus cows and calves offered by Peter Fleming. While a further $3,300 was reached for Angus cows and calves offered by Rossgole Pastoral.
Hunter Valley Angus Association President Duncan Macintyre, Scone said that this year was the best sale the association has ever had.
‘The quality of females was strong the whole way through the yarding and with producers experiencing a good season across the Hunter Valley and other parts of the state, prices held strong throughout the entirety of the sale’, said Duncan.
‘Most buyers were restockers looking to source quality Angus females to include in their breeding program,’ he said.
Landmark Townsend agent, Chris Dobie, Scone said there was an $1,000 improvement on the average this year.
‘The prices at the breeders sale were off the chart, which is a reflection of a good season and the high quality of the cattle,’ he said.
Prices were about $500 dearer than the current female market, Mr Dobie said.
‘With the cattle market still well above where it was in previous years, producers were looking to rebuild and add to their breeding herds’, he said.
‘Producers are aware that to rebuild their herds with quality, they will have to pay higher prices’.
Stud Angus females are also hot property in the cattle industry, with two well renowned Angus studs dispersing their herds and breaking records along the way to show how strong and resilient the registered Angus female market is.
Wattletop Angus Stud, Guyra New South Wales, broke an Australian Angus record for average price of registered Angus females, when 260 females averaged a phenomenal $8,494 for a complete clearance of the PTIC females put up for auction in the first stage of the Guyra New South Wales stud’s dispersal.
A top price of $38,000 was reached twice, with Wattletop Barunah E295 purchased by Sprys Angus and Wattletop J464, purchased by Bannaby Angus.
Volume buyers included Michael Campbell from Wirrabilla at Walcha who purchased 30 cows, Roger Flower Black Mountain NSW, 21 cows and Nicholas and Karen Morgan, Glen Innes NSW, 19 cows.
Vendor Jess MacDougall was ecstatic with the results and said the sale far exceeded their expectations.
‘It is a great time to be selling Angus females and it was great to be rewarded for 35 years of dedication to breeding cattle that are structurally sound and fertile with a focus on carcase quality,’ she said.
‘We have been seeing commercial cattle with high carcase merit fetching a premium in the current market and I believe long term, producers that invest in quality genetics will always demand a premium. For Australia to remain competitive in the global market we will have to focus on quality because we will struggle to compete on price due to our high cost of production’, said Jess.
This average is undoubtedly a record for any registered female dispersal of any breed in Australia.
The Australian Angus record was previously held by the Coonamble Angus Stud, Bremer Bay, Western Australia, who sold 77 registered Angus females for an average of $8,039 on the 26th of October 2015.
Earlier in the year at what is likely Australia’s largest ever Angus dispersal sale the Gubbins Family of Coolana Angus, Chatsworth Victoria sold 820 lots to a top of $22,000 and an average of $3,276.
The top price was paid by Damian Gommers, Mandayen stud, Keith, SA for Coolana Tearful G216, while the other 819 lots were sold to successful bidders from every Australian state except WA.
Showing the strength of the demand for registered Angus females, there were 23 buyers of 10 or more lots, with Perry Gunner and Peter Colliver, Stoney Point Angus, SA the biggest volume buyers, purchasing 53 lots in total.
Alec Moore, Weeran Angus, Byaduk, Vic accompanied by his manager Tim purchased a total of 47 lots, plus Tim Wright purchased 12 lots on his own account. While Rowley and Tracy Bennett, Fernhill Angus, Corowa, NSW successfully bid on 46 lots.
Picture: Wattletop Barunah E295 was the equal $38,000 top price female at the Wattletop Angus stage 1 dispersal sale
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