The 2018 Elite Wagyu Sale was held at the closure of the annual Australian Wagyu Association’s annual conference, WagyuEdge in Mackay, Queensland.
Held as an online and live auction in the auditorium of the Mackay Entertainment and Convention Centre and conducted by AuctionsPlus and RuralCo/GDL, the auction attracted vigorous bidding from in-house attendees and Australian and international bidders via the online facility.
The Elite Wagyu Sale is the fifth annual sale and invites the top 10% of the Wagyu breed to showcase their genetics. On offer are the top sires, dams, semen and embryos in a record number of lots.
Elite Wagyu Sale 2018_aThe highlight of the Elite Wagyu Sale was Lot 53 attracting a remarkable winning bid of $185,000. A Poll Wagyu bull, Lot 53 was sired by famed Mayura Itoshigenami Jnr that carries a polled gene M0775 (Midnight) as a two-year-old genetically polled heterozygous bull, that is qualified for export. His sire is averaging a BMS 9 at Mayura Station and in the top 1pc for EMA. A remarkable pedigree from two exceptional Australian wagyu breeders at Mayura and Robbins Island.
Sold to an international bidder from South Africa, this bull will stay in Australia and semen will be collected for export to South Africa for the development of his breeding herd says Mayura Managing Director, Scott deBruin.
More high values were reached when Lot 72, comprising 10 semen straws hit the stratosphere with an $8,000 per straw sale price. Sourced from a Macquarie Wagyu bull, one of the industry’s top Sires and is ranked third of all bulls in Australia. He has produced 15 carcases to date that show exceptional marble scores and carcase weight. This sale continues to reflect the high standard achieved with genetics in the top 10% of the Australian herds.
To round out an impressive sale, the top female price was $80,000 for a PTIC heifer, the top embryo package was $26,000 for 8 embryos provided by Hamblin Pty Ltd of Strathdale Wagyu and Robbins Island Wagyu. The total auction takings more than doubled the 2017 results at more than $1.16 million and a clearance rate of 80pc.
“The Elite Wagyu Sale represents the highest level of breeding and raising of wagyu cattle of the Australian industry,” says Peter Gilmour, President Australian Wagyu Association. “By investing in such high-quality sires and dams, the industry can continue to have the strongest genetic strains anywhere in the world outside of Japan.
“It has been a fantastic result for all concerned and we are delighted that the auction could be televised on screen at the WagyuEdge conference with live and online bids. It made for a hugely dynamic and exciting auction.”
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