(Credit: The Land, 30 April 2021 for image and article)
Organisers of inaugural Red Angus Invitational bull sale were pleased with the results of Friday’s sale in Tamworth with Southern Highlands stud Yallambee topping the sale at $20,000.
Of the 36 bulls advertised for the sale, seven were withdrawn, with 17 sold at an average of $9529 for a clearance rate of 58 per cent.
A syndicate of Goondoola Livestock, Cargo, and Elliott and Allyson Connors, JP Red Angus, Scone, were the successful bidders for Yallambie Revival (YRAQ56), which was sired by Red Northline Revival and out of Red Northline Fat Tina.
The sale was a first for the industry as all bulls up for bids had recently completed a trial of 70 days at the UNE Smart Farm Tullimba Feedlot outside of Armidale, before returning home for Friday’s sale.
At the conclusion of the trial, the top-selling 17-month-old bull weighed 764 kilograms, which was up from 533kg at the start of trial, had fat depth measurements of 22mm and 13mm up from 6mm and 4mm, an eye muscle area (EMA) of 111 square centimetres, up from 87sq cm and a 37cm scrotal circumference.
He also had the biggest IMF score of 7.5 per cent at the end of the feedlot trial.
“We were looking for a bull that had that extra EMA which would balance with our females, but we were also looking for positive fats and he had quite good fat cover that you don’t often find in a bull with good EMAs,” JP Red Angus director Elliott Connors told The Land.
“Those were the qualities that really attracted us as well as his total outcross, there is none of them here in Australia, so that’s what’s really going to help us and let our little herd keep going forward.
“When Nicole and Hannah Powe put the idea of a syndicate to us we were more than happy to jump on board, it’s perfect all around and honestly, we couldn’t find anything wrong with him whatsoever.”
Goondoola Livestock principal Hannah Powe echoed Mr Connors’ sentiments, saying Yallambie Revival was “a definite standout”.
“He’s total outcross, which is something we are always chasing,” Ms Powe said.
“As well as that, he was backed by that carcase data that we’re looking for in terms of having a high IMF and high EMA, to combine those two with being a total outcross was great for us.
“For us, he will pretty much go straight to work and we will co-ordinate with Elliott in terms of if he goes to him and joins with his spring cows and we AI in the spring.
“He will be collected, we have some semen interest in him and we look forward to seeing where we go from there.”
Yallambie stud principal David Croker, Berrima, said while the inaugural sale was “a bit tight in places” it was a great place to start. “We had to start somewhere with this program and I thought all the bulls were of a really good quality,” Mr Croker said.