The quality of bulls at the Gubbins family of Coolana’s sale on March 1 was well appreciated with bulls selling to a top of $15,500 and an average of $7369.
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It also achieved a 96 per cent clearance of 126 bulls.
The sale followed the Gubbins family of Coolana Angus’s decision to disperse its seedstock breeding enterprise 12 months ago, when it staged the biggest ever dispersal in the Australian Angus breed’s history.
Their combined autumn bull sale preceded that dispersal last year, producing a Coolana record result.
Still to go were their two scheduled bull sales for 2018, to offer 2016-drop bulls, the first of which was held last Thursday.
There were 131 autumn and spring 2016-drop bulls offered to a large crowd of over 130 people, including 55 registered bidders.
The sale top was just $1500 less than last year’s record top of $17,000, and the average just $219 down.
“We are ecstatic and to be honest a little blown away with such an exceptional result in the circumstances of leaving the stud industry,” Mr Gubbins said after the sale.
“We were certainly very pleased with the quality we were able to put up, but the loyalty and strength of bidding from our clients was something special.”
Of the registered bidders, 35 were successful in purchasing bulls.
Two South Australian buyers and long-term Coolana clients, Princess Royal Station, Burra, and Benara Props, Mount Gambier, dominated the volume buying, collectively purchasing 47 bulls, or 37 per cent of those sold.
The strong competition saw 27 bulls sell for $10,000 or better,
Princess Royal’s Jack Rowe and livestock manager Luke Bavistock bought the top-priced $15,500 bull.
The bull was the first of the spring 2016-drops, Coolana Revenue M176, and was sired by Connealy Revenue 7392.
A bull with huge volume and growth (826kg at 18.5 months), its figures included +107kg for 600-day weight, +4.2 for EMA, +2.2 for IMF per cent, and -6 for gestation length.
Legh and Scott Winser, Benara Props, opened their buying account at $7000 on the first bull offered, and later paid for the sale’s third-top of $13,500.