An easy-going Angus bull has set sale records in Northern Southland, including the highest price paid for any yearling bull in New Zealand this season.
Of the 37 bulls on offer at the Rockley Angus yearling bull sale in Balfour, 32 sold for an average of $6195, including a top price of $24,000.
Carrfields stud stock representative Robbie Kirkpatrick, of Christchurch, bought the top bull, Rockley S043, on behalf of Tawa Hills Angus in Motu, about an hour northwest of Gisborne.
Mr Kirkpatrick said the "well-structured bull" was the "total package".
He paid more for the bull than his clients - Blair and Paige Crawshaw - had expected.
"We had a budget and we blew it, but it was the right bull for them."
PGG Wrightson livestock genetics representative Cam Heggie, of Waikato, said Rockley S043 fetched the highest price for any yearling bull sold in New Zealand this season.
Rockley Angus concluded the yearling bull sale season in New Zealand, he said.
The underbidder on the top bull were Stern Angus owners Fiona and James Fraser, of South Canterbury, Mr Heggie said.
After the sale, PGG Wrightson auctioneer Ben McKerchar thanked the 35 registered buyers for their "spirited bidding" at the helmsman auction.
"There was a fair bit of action."
Mrs McCallum, speaking to the crowd of about 80 after the sale on Rockley Farm, said the sale result was "outstanding".
Speaking to Southern Rural Life the day after the sale, Mrs McCallum said the annual on-farm sale was in its sixth year.
The previous top sale price for a bull was $9000 in 2020.
One of their yearling bulls fetching the highest price in New Zealand was a surprise, she said.
"I didn’t expect that."
The sale result was confirmation the stud was heading in the right direction, selecting bulls to meet breeding objectives the market wanted, such as calving ease, good temperament and eating quality.
Bull Rockley S043 had "grunt and depth" and an "awesome temperament" of relaxed confidence, she said.
"He’s comfortable in his own skin."
An "awesome" moment after the sale was when her son Zac stood the bull up so he could show his mates what a $24,000 yearling bull looked like.
The couple have three children Tim (12), Zac (9) and Emma (6).
Rockley Angus stud was part of their 320ha Rockley Farm on flat to rolling country, including some of the Hokonui Hills.
The farm was also used run a flock of 1500 Tefrom sheep and to graze young dairy cattle.
The couple owned a dairy farm, MCM Dairies, in Mandeville, where they employed Hayden and Emma Patterson to milk 640 KiwiCross cows at the peak of the season.
Any bulls at Rockley Angus which did not make the sale line-up, or failed to sell, serviced cows on the diary farm before being sent to the works.
They bought Rockley Farm in partnership with Philip’s parents Lloyd and Kathy McCallum about a decade a go.
Her grandparents Fred and Judith Stevens once owned an Angus stud.
She was a teenager when her grandparents retired and they gifted her two heifers to start her own stud.
At school, beef genetics was never promoted as a career path for women so she became a teacher, but always maintained an interest in cattle, including showing them at A&P shows.
Her uncle was a stud stock agent in the North Island and helped her buy heifers and the pastime continued after she got married, including buying "seconds" from studs.
"It was small beginnings - it was a hobby I had to make work in the farming business."
The 37 bulls on offer last week was the biggest line-up in the history of the sale, 10 more bulls than last year.
Now the goal was to maintain the number and quality of bulls on offer and keep commercial farmers happy by offering them bulls with proven traits.
"So they have an assurance when they’re buying - that’s important to me."
Mr McCallum said autumn was dry this year and winter and early spring were wet and snow in October impacted hogget lambing.
"The wee hoggeys took a bit of a hiding."
He was pleased how the bulls handled the seasons and they were in better condition than the line-up at the sale last year.
Mrs McCallum said a reason was due to the bulls having more feed available because 400 dairy cows were sent elsewhere for winter grazing this year so they could focus on the building of a new milking shed on the dairy farm.
Last year’s line-up of bulls were impacted by spring grass growth arriving later than this year and recovering from a bout of ringworm, she said.
Plans were to hold the sale on October 13 next year, a week earlier to line-up with other bull sales in the South.
The dream five years ago was to hold a sale featuring 30 yearling bulls.
To progress beyond that was "phenomenal", she said.
"I feel super blessed."
shawn.mcavinue@alliedpress.co.nz
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