The 35 yearling bulls will be auctioned on the rolling-to-flat 320ha Rockley Farm in Northern Southland.
Rockley Angus co-owner Katherine McCallum said all of the bulls passed a semen test conducted by Xcell Breeding Services last week. "To check everything is swimming and working in the business end of the bull."
The bulls recently had a coat trim for ultrasound scanning to measure their eye muscle.
"Recording data of as many traits as possible is really important to us," Mrs McCallum said.
Beef prices looked promising, as demand is being driven by a shortage in North America, she said.
Demand had been strong for beef calves out of dairy cows, she said.
A reason could be sheep farmers looking for more cattle to run to diversify their businesses, she said.
However, feed was in short supply due to recent wet and cold conditions in Northern Southland including Rockley Farm.
The yearling bulls had been given priority feeding in drier paddocks and cows and younger stock had been fed baleage deeper into spring than usual.
Calving started in early August and the weather had made it challenging.
"We have had two snow dumps and a lot of wet."
"I guess it’s swings and roundabouts," she said.
When Southern Rural Life visited the farm last week, Mrs McCallum noted the sound of the hum of helicopters, which were spreading fertiliser across nearby farms.
Spreading fertiliser by air had been the preferred application method in Northern Southland recently because some paddocks were too wet to drive vehicles on, she said.
To help combat rising costs, they had been more proactive and efficient when spreading fertiliser to ensure they could get lambs away sooner, she said.
A favourable summer and autumn on the farm had produced some of the heaviest bull calves in the history of the stud at weaning in March this year.
Many people at past sales had bought yearling bulls for mating beef heifers.
The yearling bulls were big enough to put over cows, unless it was a bigger beef breed, such as Charolais.
Yearling bulls on offer this year include progeny of artificial insemination sire Tehama Testament from the United States.
His semen was selected because of his smooth shoulders, a trait to make calving of his progeny easier.
"He is a calving ease specialist."
The semen was put over older proven Angus cows on Rockley Farm and one of the bulls had been retained for use in the stud.
Lambing of the 1050 ewes began on September 1 and her children Tim, 14, Zac, 11 and Emma, 8, were booked in for tailing these school holidays.
The children had been caring for orphan lambs on the farm.
About 300 hoggets had been shifted to her father’s place in Balfour for lambing because he had feed available.
Those hoggets started lambing recently.
"They are going well — they’re good wee mums."
When asked if she was hoping of a repeat of the yearling bull Rockley S043 selling for $24,000 to Tawa Hills Angus in Mōtū, Poverty Bay in 2022, she said she would be happy if every bull sold to a commercial farmer in Northern Southland and their purchase performed for them.
"It is cool to have a stud bull but it is good to see commercial guys doing well from Rockley genetics."
PGG Wrightson Lower South Island livestock genetics rep Callum McDonald said the only dampener of spring bull sale season was the constant rain in the South.
"It's pretty wet at the moment in Southland but the beef side of it is looking pretty positive ... we need the sun to kick the grass into gear."
About a dozen bull sales, a mix of beef and dairy, began this week. Yardings were on par with past years, he said.
"There's some good bulls around."
