Liquid gold galore at Clunie Range sale...
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Not even a power cut and drenching rain could halt the Clunie Range Angus stud from bolting to a $10,818 average at the on-property auction on Friday.
Guest Pastoral sold all 146 bulls at auction to gross $1,579,500 and top at $32,500 with the majority snapped up by commercial clients along with some studs.
Elders auctioneer Michael Smith had to call his bids twice as loudly when about an inch of rain fell midway through the sale and left the Wallangra property water logged.
Stud principal Brett Guest said the rain was almost as good as the money.
The local area had been horrific last year, he said, and as a result all but 40 of the bulls were sent away to large acreage agistment at Boulia and Prairie in Queensland.
They received no supplementary feeding, some were mustered with helicopters and one management group was put to work with females in 25,000 acres.
Queensland buyers bought up in a big way on the eve of the Maroon state's border closure but it was a local who took home the $32,500 top bull.
Jackie, John, Jillian and Joe Woodward, Reemo, Warialda, purchased two bulls.
Clunie Range Quilpie Q317 was a yearling by Esslemont Lotto L3 and out of a Hingaia 469 female and sold to Nairn Park Angus, Walcha
Internally at Clunie Range there were debates about selling the bull who was structurally correct, long bodied, deep and impressive on top.
Buyer Rob Costello had been and inspected the Clunie Range bulls three times in the last fortnight and was impressed by the top bull's whole package.
Dick Whale of Independent Breeding & Marketing Services with Scott Guest, Delungra.
"Just his phenotype, and his raw data and estimated breeding figures were impressive," he said.
"He was a very well built bull."
He weighed 656 kilograms with an average daily weight gain of 1.52kg and 38 centimetre scrotum. He was top five per cent for feed efficiency estimated breeding values and top nine per cent for days to calving.
He will be put to work in their herd of 250 females along with a yearling bull, Clunie Range Quinalow Q344, for $18,000.
Kylie, Thomas and Ella Grabham with Alice Watters, Wallangra.
The second top of $26,000 was hit twice.
Clunie Range Popeye P331 was by the popular LD Capitalist sire and sold to Consolidated Pastoral Company through AuctionsPlus.
The deep-bodied calving ease bull sat in the top one per cent for all growth trait estimated breeding values.
Richmond buyers AJM Pastoral also paid $26,000 for Clunie Range Quantum Leap Q324.
The Baldridge Beast Mode son had low birth weight and high growth estimated breeding values. AJM finished up with three bulls averaging $22,000.
Bulk buyer was Drummondslope Cattle Pty Ltd, Alpha, Qld, with 19 bulls averaging $11,210.
Not far behind was an Elders Brisbane client who secured 14 bulls averaging $9571.
Successful purchasers were spread right across NSW including Warialda, Inverell, Glen Innes, Yetman, Kangaroo Creek, Tamworth, Woodenbong, Kyogle, Delungra, Urbenville, Garah, Barraba, Wallanbah, Walcha, North Star, Wallangra, Boggabilla, Coonamble, Young.
Brenden Wyatt, Killarney, Qld, with Hugh Guest of Clunie Range and Haydn Lamb, Killarney, Qld.
Bulls were bound for northern areas of Queensland including Goondiwindi, Back Plains, Toobeah, Blackall, Hughenden, Injune, Roma, Proston, Highgrove, Ironpot, Killarney, St George, Alpha, Wheatvale, Warwick, Blackall, Cloncurry, Glenmorgan, Clermont, Mornish, Biloela.
South Australian buyers were also successful from Pinaroo and Reedy Creek.
The sale was conducted by Elders with Michael Smith as auctioneer.
Read the full report in next week's paper.
The story Liquid gold galore at Clunie Range sale first appeared on The Land.