2022 BULL SALE

Koojan Hills angus sale tops at $25,000

"THE Koojan Hills Angus on-property bull sale at Manypeaks last Monday was another one for the record books as prices hit a high of $25,000 for an Angus yearling bull and the event averaged more than $11,000.
As in past years, the line-up drew a large crowd of prospective buyers to the stands and when bidding got underway the crowds showed they weren't just there to look but they were there to buy and they dug deep into their wallets to secure the bulls they had ticked in the catalogue.

All up 94 Angus bulls went through the ring and Mr Altus found new homes for 91 of them, as 46 different buyers purchased them at an average of $11,841, the best-ever recorded by the Koojan Hills stud, breaking last year's record. In comparison to last year the average was up $813 and the stud sold an additional 16 bulls under the hammer. The clearance was improved further post-sale with all of the passed-in bulls also finding new homes. Along with the strong bidding in the stands, the contribution of the AuctionsPlus platform played a role in the excellent result.

Nutrien Livestock Great Southern manager Bob Pumphrey said it was an impressive result for the Metcalfe family and a credit to their breeding program and presentation of bulls. "It was a quality line-up of bulls across both breeds right through the catalogue which highlighted the family's breeding program," Mr Pumphrey said. "It was a very even line-up and the quality was there from start to finish and the buyers responded accordingly. To offer more bulls, sell more bulls and see an average increase of close to $800 is a great result.

Equally as happy with the final outcome was stud co-principal Richard Metcalfe who said his family was extremely pleased with the result.
"After last year's sale we decided to offer more bulls this year to keep a lid on the average a bit and I think we certainly achieved that today," Mr Metcalfe said. "Buyers could purchase bulls at all budget levels from $5000 through to $25,000 which is what we wanted to happen."

As part of the line-up this year the stud offered five yearling bulls (late March 2021 drop) as an experiment of sorts and it certainly paid off because not only did one of the bulls sell for the day's top price but all five sold for an average of $13,400.
The five yearling bulls were offered half way through the run and when they came into the ring buyers took notice due to the exciting, new genetics on offer.

Attracting the most attention from buyers was Koojan Hills Stellar S14 in lot 56. From the moment the smooth, classy, young bull entered the ring you could see something special was about to unfold. Eventually it was first time buyer at Koojan Hills Michael Wallace, Springhills Estate, Boyup Brook, who prevailed as the buyer with a bid of $25,000 to stop all other buyers in their tracks.
Mr Wallace said he was a very impressive young bull with plenty of potential. "I was looking for a new stud sire with an outcross bloodline and I was speaking to Bob and he told me about this bull," Mr Wallace said. "I then got Chris (Metcalfe) to send me through a bit more information and then when I got here today I saw him in the flesh and wasn't disappointed. He has a good skin and moves well. I think he will grow into a pretty impressive sire.”

Also creating interest among the yearling bulls was a full ET-brother to Stellar S14 and the first Sitz Stellar 726D son in Australia to go under the hammer, Koojan Hills Stellar S9 in lot 55. The 473kg bull also sold for more than $20,000 when it was knocked down at $21,500, which was the third top price in the sale, to Wes Graham, Esperance, who was bidding through AuctionsPlus.

The second top price was $24,000 which was achieved twice very early in the run. The first bull to hit the $24,000 mark was Koojan Hills Mt Kaputar R5 in lot 3 when it sold to the Dewar family, Ardcairnie Angus stud, Guilderton. The deep, powerful sire is an ET-bred, March 2020 born son of Texas Mt Kaputar M100 and Koojan Hills H2.

Buyer Joe Dewar said Mt Kaputar R5 was a nice, big powerful bull without being untidy. "He also has a well-balanced set of figures which include good growth and an average birthweight," Mr Dewar said. We were also chasing the Mt Kaputar bloodline as we liked the look of it and wanted a new bloodline for our herd.

Matching Mt Kaputar R5 for the equal $24,000 second top price was a full brother, Koojan Hills Mt Kaputar R71, when it sold at this price tag to Mark Bettini, De Grey Cattle Co, Port Hedland, who bid with the assistance of Nutrien Livestock, Pastoral representative Roger Leeds.
Mr Bettini said in his eyes Mt Kaputar R71 was the sale's standout bull. "He has depth, length and softness to go with a good spread of EBVs," Mr Bettini said.

By Jodie Rintoul, Farm Weekly