Days Whiteface 2016 Bull Sale Report

The combined Days Whiteface and Allendale Poll Hereford bull offering on Monday 22nd Feb clearly demonstrated there are more great performance cattle in the south east of South Australia than those of a black colour. Red and White was certainly the colour of the day as the studs’ 18th annual Poll Hereford bull sale saw a wonderful lift in prices up to levels where they belong.

In a total clearance, 78 bulls sold to a top of $17,000 and averaged $8218. The top price matched last year’s top and while there have been higher top priced bulls at this sale previously; it was the depth of the competition that was the
feature of this sale.

Nineteen bulls sold for $10,000 or better, which went a big way towards lifting the overall sale average by an amazing $3001 on last year’s still very good result at that time of $5217. Such bidding strength saw just 29 very serious buyers blow the other 30 registered bidders away in front of a large crowd of around 200 people. The buying honours were shared by beef producers from four states and territories, with all these regions featuring in the headlines.

Alastair and Jayne Day and family’s Allendale stud topped the sale with Allendale Chinchilla K65 (P) (AI) selling to repeat buyer, Craig Trickey, Coryule Pastoral Co, Ballarat for $17,000; buying through agent Crawford Dowling. Two lots earlier he also purchased Days Exceptional K53 (P) (AI), by the $90,000 Days Calibre G74 (P) for $11,000 to go home with two elite young sires to fulfil his purchasing objective.

Purchaser Craig Trickey said, “We were looking to purchase something good to go over the progeny of the last bull top bull we bought from here, and particularly looking at bulls with lower birthweight and top growth.”

While Allendale received the top price, it was Lachy & Lou Day’s Days  Whiteface stud that had the strongest result, with 12 of the 19 bulls making five figures coming from the Days Whiteface draft, including the next four highest prices ranging from $13,500 to $16,000. Their draft of 38 bulls averaged a fantastic $9132.

After a cautious opening, when Jim Cobain, Sale picked up Days Benedict K73 (P) for just $7000, again indicating the first lot is often the cheapest, nine of their next 12 bulls offered topped $10,000. Included were five repeat, single bull purchasers.

David Sleigh, Sleigh Pastoral Co, Ruffy, Vic paid the sale’s second top price and the highest Days Whiteface price of $16,000 for Days Demonstrator K72 (P) (AI). Buying through Elders Euroa’s Damien Harrington, David and wife Susan breed their own herd bulls for their Ruffy and Jerilderie properties, turning off around 500 young cattle annually.

Landmark’s Mt Pleasant agent, Colin Fawcett communicated with client MacLachlan Props to successfully bid $15,000 for Days Flagstone K25 (P) (AI), a very impressive son of Days Robin Hood H38 (P). He later purchased Days Dimension K124 (P) at $11,000 for Sue Holt, Mt Pleasant.

While lot 1 was cheaper, the second bull in the ring, Days Flamboyant K58 (P) (AI) set the higher prices rolling with a successful $14,000 bid from Bowyer Family Trust, operating through Elders Millicent.

Long term client Chris England, The Snuggery, Kingston and buying through Elders Kingston’s Nick Downward, paid $13,000 for Days Calibre K14 (P) (AI) (ET), a maternal half-brother to the $90,000 Days Calibre.

The full brother to this record priced sire sold one lot before at $13,500 to Ian Daniel, Senior Park, Bordertown, buying through Spence Dix & Co’s Kym Lovelock. Unlike the others previously mentioned, Ian Daniel purchased two other bulls in the later lots at $7000 and $5000, averaging $8500 for his three bulls.

In a welcome return to this sale from the vendors’ perspective, were James and Lyndy Simpson, Edendale Co, Guneena, Inverell. They last attended this sale in 2012 when they purchased nine bulls, this year going one better. They started their buying at lot 3 with Days Franchise K45 (P) for $13,000 to make an initial big statement. They then purchased nine more throughout the sale paying from $6000 to the $13,000 and averaged $8750, with five bulls coming from each vendor.

The Simpsons run a top commercial Hereford herd and have almost completed their conversion from a horned to polled herd. They mostly market their young stock to the feedlot trade.

Successful New South Wales buyers totalled only three, but their impact was big with 20 top bull purchases.

Woomargama Station, bidding via phone through David Copping and buying through Paul & Scollard, Albury paid $10,000 and $10,500 for two Days Whiteface bulls.

Cam Anderson and Sarah Harvey, Eringoarrah Station, Winderadeen Corporation, Wantabadgery and buying through Pattison Livestock have purchased these bloodlines previously at Dubbo, but this was their first visit to this sale where they made an immediate impact. They purchased eight bulls; four from each vendor, paying from $6500 to $9500 and averaging $8125. They were seeking bulls with lower birth weights, higher growth and fertility, then planning to use these to produce young cattle, marketed mainly at 14 to 18 months mainly to feedlotters.

While these New South Wales buyers made a big impact with multiple purchases at significant prices, they were not the biggest volume purchasers on the day. That honour went to Locky and Paddy Weir, Todd River Pastoral Co and buying through Elders Alice Springs. They purchased 15 bulls throughout the sale from $4000 to $7000 and at an average of $5767; great value in this sale. They started at lot 11 at $5000 and finished with the last two lots at $6000 and $7000.

Long term volume buyers, GA Young & Sons were back again with Ross Young bidding strongly through Landmark Millicent’s Jim Noonan. Ross paid from $5000 to $9000 for six bulls and averaged $7250.

Ian Baker, FOB Livestock, Sale was buying agent for Jim Cobain, the buyer of lot 1, but also purchased two bulls at $7000 and $10,500 account AR Chomley, one coming from each vendor’s draft.

There have been many years when the following buying client would have made the headlines, but in this sale they were one of many significant contributors to the outstanding result. Brian Spring, Ray White Keatley, Mt Gambier paid an average of $9500 for four bulls for repeat client Shiloh Park. Their top purchase at $12,000 came from the Days Whiteface draft, while three to $11,000 came from the Allendale offering.

Besides the great depth of phenotype quality and elite performance of these bulls right through the catalogue, another feature was their wonderful docility. These two studs are not foreign to headline results at National breed events, but this was their most successful annual sale result from the 18 held so far. It will certainly be a day they will long remember.