2020 BULL SALE
“Koojan Hills angus twice tops $13,000”
Quality bulls were everywhere you looked at the annual Koojan Hills Angus on-property bull sale at Manypeaks on Monday, where impressed murmurs could be heard by sale attendees throughout the lanes and grandstand prior to the sale.
Always capable of drawing a crowd, the Koojan Hills Angus line-up once again had backsides filling the seats of the ring-side grandstand with buyers from across the Great Southern, South West and local areas ready to bid up on the 75 bulls on offer.
Of the 75 Angus sires presented at auction a total of 61 sold to achieve a gross of $428,500 and an average of $7,025. In the softer bull market experienced so far in 2020, this year’s Koojan Hills sale held up very well against the 2019 result when 60 from 73 were sold at auction to a top of $13,000, a gross of $472,500 and an average of $7,875.
Australian cattle legend and Koojan Hills founder Lew Smit watches on during the sale.
Top-price honours stayed local this year, with Tomlinson Agricultural, Kalgan, paying $13,000 for Koojan Hills Prince P137. The 822kg April 2018-drop calf was an eye-catcher according to Mr Pumphrey, who held the bidding card on behalf of the Tomlinson Agricultural account, and was willing to demonstrate his confidence in the bull’s quality by opening the bidding at $10,000.
“This is a very, very structurally sound bull,” Mr Pumphrey said. “That outstanding outlook is backed by good figures, so he’s a real all-rounder and will produce excellent results when joined with the elite females in the Tomlinson herd.
But not to be out done, another Koojan Hills sire drew the attention of bidders from a bit further afield, with long time Koojan Hills supporter and last year’s top-price buyer Alan Greenwell, Bullrush Farms, Gingin, making the final bid of $13,000 on Koojan Hills Patriot P58 to make it an equal top-price bull for the day.
Representing Bullrush Farms, local Landmark agen Harry Carroll said P58 was another example of the excellent standard of cattle offered by the Koojan Hills stud each year. “Alan is a long time buyer from Koojan Hills and this bull ticks all the boxes for him,” Mr Carroll said.
“He very much likes the overall style of the bull which will complement his female herd based on Koojan Hills and Ardcairnie bloodlines at Gingin.”
The volume buyer on the day was Landmark Bridgetown’s Ben Cooper who made the trip to Manypeaks worthwhile by landing seven Koojan Hills bulls including a top of $9,500 paid for Koojan Hills Kaiser P82, a late March 2018-born calf with excellent growth.
Speaking on behalf of Koojan Hills, co-principal Chris Metcalfe said his family was very pleased with the result of the 2020 sale. “Overall the result was where we expected and hoped it would be, and it is positive, especially with the bull market a bit back this year,” Mr Metcalfe said.
“We dont take selling bulls for granted and for us, it’s a privilege to offer bulls here and to have people willing to travel all the way to our farm to buy their bulls for the upcoming season.
“We really do appreciate the effort people have made to support our sale and we were very proud to offer this catalogue of bulls to both new and returning clients.”
By Courtney Walsh
