Good demand for Valera Vale Droughtmasters at 2023 on-property sale

The total clearance was the most pleasing part of the sale for stud principal Michael Flynn, made possible by the support of repeat and volume buyers taking part each year.

They included the Smoothy family of Rachlan Holdings, Marble Bar, WA, who bought 22 bulls for their Pilbara operation for an average $4136, to go with the two decks of paddock bulls already purchased.

The overall sale average was $6598 and Mr Flynn said it had been a great sale for them in tough conditions.

The year before, Valera Vale hit a top of $42,000 and an average of $8370 with all 135 bulls sold.

The Burnett Group Co, consisting of Steve and Lizzie Burnett, Monteagle, Clermont paid the top money on Wednesday, outlaying $26,000 for 22429M, a double polled bull aged 24 months.

Steve Burnett said he would be used in their bull breeding program at Mt Hope and would go over South Devon Brahman-cross heifers to breed Droughtmaster-cross bulls for their commercial herd.

"He had great figures," Mr Burnett said. "Valera Vale do an excellent job with the information they provide - it gives us plenty of confidence to buy the right bull for our program."

They've traditionally been using Brahman bulls for a similar purpose but said the Valera Vale bull they purchased would give them high Brahman content plus market flexibility and fertility without too much hump.

The bull had 69 per cent Bos indicus content, as well as an average daily weight gain of 1.44kg, an eye muscle area of 140 square centimetres, intra-muscular fat of 5.2pc, a scrotal circumference of 41cm, and semen morphology of 91pc.

Mr Flynn said he had lots of ticks on the bull, who would suit the Burnett's program.

"He was by a great Valera Vale bull who's produced lots of high genomic cattle for us," he said. "On his figures, he's hard to fault."

Roger and Jenny Underwood, Wallace Vale and Eversleigh Droughtmaster studs, Wallumbilla, have been the top bidders at the last three Valera Vale sales but this year they bought the second-top bull, outlaying $20,000 for 22157M, a 23-month-old homozygous polled bull.

As well as his PP status, Mr Underwood said he admired the bull's correctness, volume and colour, as well as his high morphology statistics.

"For me, he was the best bull in the yard, the most correct, and his statistics did all the right things for fertility," he said.

The Underwoods also purchased a second double poll bull for $13,000, and Mr Flynn said he really rated both of them.

"The first was quiet and soft - he suited Roger's operation, and the second, with his loose wrinkly skin was really impressive," he said.

"He looked like a stud sire, with good numbers behind him."

The sale was the first time in Australia that a Droughtmaster stud had incorporated genomic data for fertility and production values on all sale lots, and Mr Flynn said while it hadn't made a lot of difference to sale prices on the day, it was making their cattle better.

He expected that would make a difference to future sales.

"Looking at the results, and I haven't had a chance to analyse this yet, my feeling is that we've got to offer all our sale bulls as double polls," he said.

"One thing I'm really proud of is the tidy underlines on the bulls - it shows you can breed that with poll bulls."

Cunnamulla's Lindsay and Carol Godfrey, bidding online, were another of the volume buyers on the day, outlaying an average $4222 for nine bulls.

The Sargent family at Granville, Quilpie finished with eight bulls for an average $4125, and Dominic Devine, operating online, also bought eight bulls, averaging $5875.

Mr Flynn said Mr Devine had bought 12 decks of cows from him earlier in the year and had returned to buy the bulls to go with them, saying he understood Mr Devine was planning to start a stud.

"They were all double poll bulls," he said. "Dominic doesn't do things by half."

The sale had 25 bidders, including six online, from Bundaberg, Calliope and Casino, NSW.

The online buyers accounted for 24 bulls sold.