2025 Bull Sale
It was a big day out at Bremer Bay last week when the Davis family hosted its annual Coonamble Angus on-property bull sale, as buyers chased the renowned genetics on offer from the stud.
With a big crowd around the selling ring when the sale got underway, it wasn't long before it was 'show time' for the stud, when sons by the stud's $106,000 record-breaking bull Coonamble Show Time S42 went under the hammer and were hotly pursued by buyers and sold to a sale high $72,000.
But it wasn't only the Show Time S42 sons that buyers were at the sale for and it showed in their bidding as it was red hot from start to finish as they went after the highly acclaimed Coonamble genetics.
With 74 registered buyers in front of the Nutrien Livestock auctioneering team, led by auctioneers Tiny Holly and Austin Gerhardy, there was no shortage of competition on the extremely even line-up of bulls presented and this meant the selling team was kept on its toes as the bids came in at a fast and furious pace.
In addition to the competition in the shed, there was also added interest on AuctionsPlus with the catalogue receiving 2020 views and the sale seeing 228 logins which resulted in four active online bidders placing 47 bids on 41 different lots.
Sale summary
(Under the hammer results)
Offered: 105
Sold: 105
Top: $72,000
Gross: $1,604,000
Average: $15,276
From Mr Holly's opening call on lot one, the buyers who had travelled from as far away as Gingin in the north to Esperance in the east and Waroona in the west, showed their confidence in the Coonamble offering, putting their hand in the air on the bulls they had ticks against in the catalogue.
As a result the selling team hardly started a bull at the $5000 reserve price.
When the final bull left the ring and the sale statistics were calculated, the stud had again cemented its reputation as a leading supplier of Angus genetics.
The statistics showed the Nutrien Livestock selling team had cleared all 105 bulls offered under the hammer to 52 different buyers, including 31 buyers that purchased multiple lots, for a huge gross of $1.6 million and a $15,276 average, which was up $1784 on last year.
In comparison, last year the stud offered and sold 126 bulls to 54 buyers to a top of $32,000 twice and an average of $13,493.
It was not only the sale figures that impressed.
It was the fact the huge sale result was again built on the back of buying support from nearly all commercial cattle producers keen to keep their herds moving forward and know the benefits and returns they get from using Coonamble genetics in their herds.
Mr Holly said it was a marvellous sale for the Davis family.
"The result is one everyone looks for and was a credit to the Davis family and their team," Mr Holly said.
"To achieve 100 per cent clearance over 100 bulls at an average of more than $15,000 given the seasonal and market conditions of the past couple of years is outstanding.
"The top end values were amazing but what I think made the sale was consistency and solid bidding throughout.
"It was also pleasing to see 70 per cent of the bulls sell for less than $15,000 which is what the stud has been aiming to achieve to ensure there are bulls for all budget levels.
"I knew we were in for a good day after the first few lots as the bidding came in quickly and strongly.
"The sale was again well-supported by a long list of regular buyers, many who have been buying for a long time as well as a few new buyers, and they weren't afraid to bid up on the great line-up of bulls.
"The presentation and temperament of the bulls was a credit to the stud.
"They are bred in the purple and have the figures, conformation and bodies to match.
"It was a big sale and it wouldn't have been possible without the Coonamble and Nutrien staff who did a great job all day."
For Mr Holly, there was one significant highlight and that was the seven Coonamble Show Time S42 sons.
"They were like peas in a pod and very similar to their sire and they were in demand," he said.
"The buyers certainly wanted them and you could see this in their bidding, as they weren't prepared to back down when they went under the hammer which resulted in them all selling for $30,000 or more."
The massive sale figures weren't just the result of a couple of high-priced bulls, but rather a large number of bulls consistently selling to strong values.
There were 23 bulls which sold for $20,000 or more, with eight making $30,000 or more, while another 52 sold between $10,000 and $20,000.
Even though a significant proportion of the catalogue sold for more than $10,000, the sale still was able to cater for buyers with lower budgets, with 29 per cent of the bulls selling between $5000 and $10,000.
With a very even catalogue packed full of top quality, well-structured, bulls carrying some of the famous Coonamble bloodlines, as well as some new ones and backed up by great figures, there were plenty of bulls which could have attracted the attention of buyers.
In the end however it was seven sons of the stud's $106,000 record-breaking bull Coonamble Show Time S42 that attracted the most attention and interest from buyers.
Coonamble Show Time S42 was sold in the stud's 2023 sale to a buying syndicate made up of Matt and Felicity Della Gola, Tonebridge Grazing, Tonebridge; the Torrisi family, Black Market stud, Donnybrook and Julian Walter, Cherylton Angus, Brookhampton, who have equal walking rights to the bull and the Kupsch family, Black Tara stud, Allanooka, with a semen share.
When the Show Time S42 sons entered the ring, bidding went to a new level and this resulted in the seven sons all selling to an average of $43,571.
Leading the charge of the Show Time S42 sons and creating the most interest among buyers was the first son offered, Coonamble Show Time U54, in lot 10.
When the deep, well-muscled, eye-catching 930 kilogram bull entered the ring, buyers kicked into action as it was a bloodline many were chasing.
Mr Holly took an opening bid of $20,000 on the classy bull and from there the price quickly rose as a handful of buyers battled it out to take it home.
Eventually it was the Bairstow family, Arizona Farms, Lake Grace, which bid with the assistance of Nutrien Livestock Great Southern manager, Bob Pumphrey, that prevailed with the final bid at $72,000 to set the tone for the rest of the sale to follow.
The mid-March 2023-drop bull, which is out of a Coonamble Pride P23 daughter, Coonamble S30, was the result of the Davis family using Show Time S42 to back up a group of 30 AI'd autumn heifers which resulted in eight calves which were all males and six of those made the sale team.
Along with impressing on the eye, Show Time U54 also had a very good set of estimated breeding values (EBVs), especially for growth with figures of +0.2 for calving ease direct, +5.1 calving ease daughters (DTRS), -5.8 gestation length (GL), +6.4 birthweight (BWT), +65, +122 and +169 for 200, 400 and 600-day weights, +153 mature cow weight (MCW), +0.12 maternal body condition, +9.1 maternal cow height, +14 milk, +3.7 scrotal size (SS), +0.0 days to calving, +103 carcase weight (CWT), +5.9 EMA, -1.8 rib fat, -1.1 P8 fat, +0.3 retail beef yield (RBY), -0.5 IMF, +0.41 feed efficiency (NFI-F), +27 docility (DOC), +0.74 claw set, +0.88 foot angle and +0.92 leg angle.
With these figures Show Time U54 ranks in the top 1pc of the breed for 600-day weight and CWT, top 2pc for 400-day weight and top 3pc for MCW, as well as top 10pc for 200-day weight and SS.
It has index values of +$162 for the $A index, +$129 for the $D index, +$215 for $GN index and +$150 for the GS index.
Luke Bairstow said they were very happy to be able to purchase Show Time U54 after being the losing bidders on its sire in 2023.
"We were certainly chasing his bloodline due to the genetics in his sire," Mr Bairstow said.
"His sire is by AAR Frontman 3132, and the last $72,000 bull we bought was by him and we were impressed by what he produced for us, while the dam of his sire is Coonamble D94, who has been a very good breeding female for the stud.
"She has been in the pedigree of other bulls we have purchased and they have all performed well for us."
But it wasn't only the bull's bloodlines the Bairstows liked, they also liked its outlook and growth figures.
Mr Bairstow said Show Time U54 certainly lived up to its name.
"He is a powerful bull with a great outlook and presence," he said.
"He has all the traits we look for including plenty of width and depth.
"He is square from his head to his hindquarter and has good feet and structure.
"We also liked his growth figures which are all in the top 5pc which is very important to us.
"We believe he is probably the best bull we have bought from Coonamble due to the combination of his width, depth and thickness."