Top bulls in demand

Press, 17 July 1979, Page 28

Top bulls in demand

Only top-class bulls brought satisfactory prices at the annual South Island Hereford two-year-old bull show and sale at Timaru. Of the 48 bulls offered, 17 were passed in after failing to reach the upset price of $6OO. However, the average price for the day, $974. was a little better than some recent sales in the South Island, and most vendors gained at least one good price at the sale.

The average price last year was $505; only 46 of the 70 bulls offered were sold in the ring. The top price in 1978 was $l5OO, compared with $l9OO this year. Buyers were strongly represented at Timaru as they were at Cheviot and Culverden. but most farmers seemed unwilling to bid and were content to watch.

Stock quality was very high, most animals being well covered and of good style. Observers cited the downturn in beef prices, and the reduction in breeding cows, as limiting factors at the sale. One or two breeders said that they would only offer the cream of their herds next year. Two newcomers to Hereford breeding did very well at the sale. P. Grant, of Kingsdown, near Timaru, sold a bull for $l9OO to a well-known Otago breeder, I. Parkes. The other newcomer, Miss A. Robinson (Woodend) sold a bull for $750. The other bull to fetch $l9OO was sold by R. B. Allan (Little Rakaia) to J. M. McCarroll (Hawarden). West Coast farmers were again active, and the Lands and Survey Department, Dunedin, also bought several bulls at prices ranging from $BOO to $l7OO. The best stud average was achieved by R. B. Allan, whose two bulls sold for $l7OO and $l9OO, an average of $lBOO. A. G. Jamieson and Sons (South Canterbury) sold three bulls for between $6OO and $l6OO, at an average of $1166. A. D. H. Scott (Coalgate), sold three between $BOO and $l5OO, at an average of $1100; B. R Chamberlain (Ellesmere), sold seven between $6OO and $l4OO. at an average of $950: A. L. McKercher (Cave, South Canterbury), two from $750 to $B5O, average $800; C. C. Gray and Sons (Ashburton), two at *650 to *9OO, average $773; Annandale Holdings (Ashburton), two at $6OO to $9OO, average $750; Waratah Stud (Fairlie), six at $6OO to $9OO, average $660; J. F. G. Blakely and Son (Waikari), one at $600; and I. C. Ford (Rangiora), one at $1250.