THE last stud sale of 2013 for the Dalrymple Saleyards at Charters Towers proved to be one of the highlights of what has been a tough year for the Northern cattle industry.
In total 51 bulls sold for $180,500 to average $3539.22 per head with a clearance rate of 91 per cent and a top price of $10,000.
Sale vendor David Bassingthwaighte, Yarrawonga Waco Studs, Wallumbilla, made the top bid of the sale, purchasing Lot 48, Yarrabee Birchwood 1090 (P) for $10,000 from Maurice Barlow, Yarrabee Grazing Co, Dingo.
David told The North Queensland Register that he’d had his eye on the bull prior to the sale due to his great sire attributes.
“He’s a poll with lots of muscle; length; a tidy sheath; excellent overall correctness and his outside bloodlines will really complement our herd,” he said.
The second top price was made straight off the bat in Lot 1, with Reid Muirhead, Muirhead Pastoral Company, Weetalaba Station, Collinsville, purchasing Yarrowonga Bossy H2, for $9000 from Yarrawonga Waco Studs, Wallumbilla.
Landmark Rockhampton Stud Stock Account Manager and Auctioneer for North Queensland Colby Ede said the quality of the bulls that went through the sale ring this year is the best he’s seen.
“We had an exceptional draft of bulls go under the hammer, and I think that showed in the sale results,” Colby said.
“It was great to see a vendor at the sale (David Bassingthwaighte) take home the top price sire; and it was also very pleasing to see buyers arrive from all over the state,” he said.
“There wasn’t a large crowd in attendance, but those that did come; bid frequently and with purpose.”
Tim Kirkwood and daughter Jane, Kirkwood Family Trust, Disney Station, Clermont, were the top volume buyers at the sale. They shrewdly selected 12 bulls for a total of $43,000.
Other volume buyers included the Dennis family, Waminda (QLD) Pty Ltd, Old Twin Hills Clermont, who purchased six head for $22,000 while Appleton Pastoral Company, Bulliwallah Station, Charters Towers, brought five bulls for $13,500.
VA and A Calleja, Innisfail, took home a draft of five head for $13,000, while J H and B A Spurdle, Rangeview Station, Ravenswood, handpicked a selection of five bulls for $15,500.
Lyn and Mark Toohey, Toohey Farming, Tumoulin, brought three head for $17,500, while Reid Muirhead, Muirhead Pastoral Company, Weetalaba Station, Collinsville, also took home three head for $16,000.
W G Cox and Son, Gainsford Station, Ayr, purchased three bulls for $13,500.
Maurice Barlow, Yarrabee Santa Gertrudis, Yarrabee Grazing Co, Dingo, had the best vendor average of the sale; he sold seven head for $33,500 to average $4786.
The top-grossing vendor honours went to David Bassingthwaighte, Yarrawonga Waco Studs, Wallumbilla, who sold 12 bulls for $52,500 to average $4375.
Peter and Nikki Mahoney, Gyranda Santa Gertrudis, Theodore, sold 10 head for $27,000 to average $2700, while Ken Muller, KM Cattle Company, Biloela, sold 15 bulls for $48,500 to average $3233, and HR CB and SR Hatton, Diamond H Santa Gertrudis, Diamond Downs, Wandoan, sold seven head for $19,000 to average $2714.
