Tugulawa stud’s Gary Allen, with the Lucas family, Sarah, Matt, Claire and Ryan, Glenmoor Simmentals, Kongorong, with lot 25 Tugulawa Katherine with bull calf at-foot, purchased for $7,000.
By Jacqui Batemen, Stock Journal
Tugulawa Simmental Stud’s reputation as a breeder of exceptional quality sires, was reflected in their most recent bull sale, the stud’s 7th held on property, at Mil Lel on the 10th February.
Commercial breeders and stud buyers from Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia were in attendance at Gary and Joy Allen’s Mil Lel property, twenty nine buyers registering to secure their pick of the 2017 crop of well muscled, stylish Simmental sires and selected females to go under the hammer.
The twenty one bulls and 19 females were sold by auctioneer, Bernie Grant, LMB Linke, Hamilton, who did an outstanding job auctioneering the sale under rather warm and humid conditions.
In the breakdown, sixteen of the 21 bulls offered were sold at auction to a high of $13,000 – an increase of just over $4,000 from last year’s sale top. The sale average was also hit out of the park, showing an increase of nearly $1,000 from the 2016 sale.
The first bull into the ring to set the sale rolling, was a red, spring 2014 drop sire with 100% pigment, displaying great volume, softness and style and was quickly knocked down to repeat buyer, David Spencer, Elders Dartmoor for $7,000.
EWP & ER Jones, Mumbannar, through Landmark Naracoorte, paid $10,500 for Lot 2, a son of the great Woonallee Tornado, Tugulawa Kooper, an extremely long and powerful, dark red sire with good eye cover.
The star of the sale this year and the sire who drew the most intense bidding, was a fully imported embryo bull, Lot 14, Tugulawa Lance. This eyecatching bull with tremendous softness and depth of body, was eventually sold to Wormbete Simmental Stud, Hopkins Pastoral, Illabo, NSW for the top of $13,000 by phone bid.
This very stylish young June 2015 drop, polled bull, had been used by the Tugulawa stud over selected stud heifers, Mr Allen believing that this sire will definitely leave his stamp on the Simmental breed. A son of RPF Pol Right Direction, showing huge capacity and length of body, weighing 791kg and with an EMA of 117, a 600 day weight of +30 impressed all the right people.
Repeat buyers, Otago Holdings, bought another two bulls, Lot 3 a red son of MF Mr Evan at $6,500 and Lot 17, a Red polled son of RPF Pol Right Direction at $3,500 for an average $5,000.
LA & F Millard, through agents, Charles Stewart, Colac also bought two sires with RBF Polled Right Time genetics; Lot 8 at $6,000 and Lot 20 at $4,000, to also average $5,000.
Two more bulls were sold directly after the sale at $3,500.
A selection of bred-in-the-purple females were also offered as PTIC, calves-at-foot or unjoined heifers, selling all but one of the lots offered. For an average of $4,125.
MG & SA Lucas, Genmoor Simmentals, Kongorong, paid top price of $7.000 for Lot 25, Tugulawa Katherine, a heifer with bull calf at foot. The Lucas family went on to successfully bid for another two unjoined heifers, Lot 41 and Lot 43, both at $3,000, to average $4,333.
GD & EA Smith, Irrewarra, bought two heifers with heifer calves at foot, Lot 26 at $5,500 and Lot 29 at $4,000 respectively, and followed up with the purchase of Lot 32, a PTIC heifer at $4.750, for an average of $4,750.
Gary Dempsey, through Miller Whan & John, Mt Gambier, also bought 3 females; Lot 27, a heifer with bull calf at foot at $4,500, Lot 33 a PTIC heifer at $4,500 and Lot 35, an unjoined heifer by Mr Evan at $4,000 to average $4,333.
Tugulawa Stud principal, Gary Allen commented that there is a lot of effort put into their breeding program and with the introduction of exciting new polled genetics from the USA, has resulted in their excellent sale result and are delighted to see new and repeat buyers at their sale and hear positive feedback.
Mr and Mrs Allen are looking forward to 2017 drop of calves to hit the ground, by their new polled sire, FSS Maximus