Weeran’s top selling ‘movie star’ bull goes off to a repeat buyer
Weeran Angus saw strong prices at its annual spring sale.
A western Victorian Angus stud has ridden out the dry times affecting the region, recording a strong clearance at its spring sale.
Weeran Angus, Byaduk, sold its top-priced bull, Weeran Tuscany VHW22T399, to Lachie McKenzie, Tarrenlea.
Mr McKenzie paid second top price at last year’s spring sale.
This year he picked up Tuscany for $18,000 in a clearance rate of 51 of the 61 bulls, for an average of $8705.
Tuscany was by Te Mania Perique P1224, out of Weeran N234. The August-2022 drop bull was the only one sired by Perique in the offering of 66 animals.
He was described as having a good eye muscle area (EMA) and intramuscular fat (IMF), with a 43 centimetre scrotal circumference – an estimated breeding value (EBV) falling in the top 9 percent for the breed.
Tuscany had figures of a birth weight of 4.8 kilograms, a 200-day weight of 54kg, a 200-day weight of 97kg and 400-day weight of 137kg.
His EMA was 9.9 square centimetres and he had an IMF of 3.6pc.
Tuscany’s rib fat measured 1.2 millimetres, while his rump fat was 1.6mm.
Mr McKenzie also bought Lot 10 Weeran VHW22T451 by Connamara P64, who had 13 EBV’s in the top 20 pc for the breed.
Stud co-principal Alec Moore said it had been a “tough season” for everyone.
“A lot of people are very, very money strapped, so we knew it wasn’t going to be a party – but our lead bulls had a lot of competition on them, and rightly so, because there was some brilliant genetics there,” Mr Moore said.
“There is a lot of stock being sold out of the area, depleted cow numbers, and so forth, so we will be ready and raring to go when the rebuild in the area happens.
“When you think of the season we have had and the fodder everybody has had to buy in, we are very fortunate to have had the clearance we did.”
Mr Moore said there had been a number of repeat clients bidding on the bulls.
“For them to come out to our sale and invest in our bulls after such a shocking year was very humbling,” he said. “There was very good value in the sale, and we believe our genetics will continue to kick a lot of goals for our clients.”
He said buyers had mentioned the calving ease and performance of the bulls, as well as the growth rates they were getting in their steers.
He said he wasn’t surprised by the top price achieved for Tuscany.
“He’s a movie star, he is as good a phenotype of a bull that’s about, he is a cracker,” he said.
Tuscany had a “beautiful shoulder, terrific body length and good carcase merit – he is a very, very good animal.”
Mr McKenzie was very much “feeder oriented”.
“He does a lot of feeding of cattle and selling them on, so he wants good carcase performance,” Mr Moore said.
Mr Moore, and co-principal Jo, said they used containment paddocks, with supplementary feed”.
“Bringing in feed has been a constant through the period, but the livestock are in good health following the driest two seasons we have experienced in our time farming at Byaduk,” they said.
Kerr & Co livestock agent Brady Hicks, Hamilton said most of the bulls went locally, with others being picked up by Gippsland buyers: the Moores had done “a really good job”.
“The two-year olds came up in excellent condition considering what they have been through,” he said. “They put Tuscany on the front cover of their catalogue, they thought that much of him.
“You just have to look at the way he stands in the pen.”
“You just have to look at the way he stands in the pen, he is a beautiful animal.”
Mr Hicks said the bull’s sire, Te Mania Perique, had also attracted a great deal of interest.
“His 600-day weight and milk was through the roof and he had real positive IMF, which is what everyone is after as well.”
Volume buyer, the Falkenberg family, Mepungah Pastoral purchased five bulls – they have been buying from Weeran Angus across three generations since 1996.
