Judy and Graham Houston, Houston Pastoral, Burrowye, with the top price bull at $36,000, Reiland Titanic T161, at the Reiland spring bull sale.
Marbling, positive fat and eye muscle were the traits in demand from commercial beef producers at the Reiland Angus 2023 spring bull sale on September 1, with prices topping at $36,000.
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A total of 71 bulls sold from the 75 offered for a 94 per cent clearance and average of $10,752.
Interfaced with AuctionsPlus, the sale was hosted by the Lucas family at Killimicat Station at Tumut in NSW, and drew buyers from NSW and Victoria.
Long-time clients, Graham and Judy Houston from Houston Pastoral at Burrowye in Victoria, secured the top price bull, Lot 52 Reiland Titantic T161, an 18-month-old son of Reiland Kiwi K201 weighing 604kg.
Titanic ranked top one per cent on BREEDPLAN for intramuscular fat (IMF) at +6.0 per cent, and top two per cent for calving ease. Reiland Angus retained 50 per cent semen and marketing rights.
Houston Pastoral invested in a further six bulls, including the $23,000 Reiland Tarik T240, a yearling by Campaspe Rocks Beast Mode Q10. Reiland retained 50 per cent semen and marketing rights.
Mr Houston described Titanic as a “seriously high marbling bull”.
“It is hard to buy marbling with carcase yield and weight,” he said.
The family has expanded their enterprise with the purchase of a property at Henty for backgrounding 700 weaner steers on grazing crops to feedlot entry weights.
“The plan is to finish the weaners by Christmas, as well as growing wheat, silage and lucerne,” Mr Houston said.
Jenny and Dick Turnbull, Holbrook, paid $16,000 for Reiland Sustain S1275.
Dick and Jenny Turnbull, of Holbrook, secured four bulls to a top of $16,000 for Reiland Sustain S1275, a two-year-old son of Reiland Plymouth P60 and weighing 900kg.
Mr Turnbull was impressed by the bull’s length and BREEDPLAN estimated breeding values, including top 30 per cent for 600-day growth.
The couple has dispersed their sheep flock and are focusing on their 750-cow herd.
“The Reiland bulls have performed for us in the past, so we keep coming back,” he said.
The couple plans to sell their lighter steers and 100 cast-for-age cows in January.
“It was a good sale today — there is still confidence in the industry and bull prices don’t seem to have dipped as much as the cattle market,” Mr Turnbull said.
Reiland co-principal Mark Lucas said he was thrilled with the sale result.
He said Reiland focused on feed efficiency and on-farm profitability by selecting sires with proven superior weight gain relative to daily feed intake.
Elders stud stock specialist Ryan Bajada said the sale drew predominantly commercial support, reflecting the performance of the Reiland bulls in the marketplace.
“It was evident the commercial buyers were chasing moderate birth, high growth and carcase data, which is in the forefront of mind for commercial and stud stock operations,” Mr Bajada said.
“Commercial herds are seeing the benefits of using high IMF, positive fat and peak EMA bulls when it comes to processing down the supply chain. At the end of the day, it’s about kilos and a quality product.”
