Gandy Angus bulls top at $20,000 in season opener

A Manjimup-bred Angus bull sold to a top of $20,000 at the Gandy family’s season opener for Angus bull sales, that resulted in a first-time Queensland stud buyer taking home a pair. The open cry auction sale, conducted by Elders and interfaced with AuctionsPlus and held at Boyanup on November 21, offered 51 bulls, and sold 43 for an average price of $7616, down $328/head on last year when 45 bulls sold for an average price of $7944. The sale topper, Gandy Man in Black U148 offered as lot two was a 918kg AI-bred son of US sire LAR Man In Black and out of Gandy dam Diamond One Stunner — the combination brought competitive bidding from local and interstate buyers. Elders stud stock agent Deane Allen secured the bull for the $20,000 top-price on behalf of phone buyer Jeff Holzwart, of Bauhinia Park Angus stud in Emerald, Central Queensland. Mr Holzwart, who established the stud in 2010 which currently joins 150 Angus females, said he sold pure Angus bulls to commercial clients that aim to add muscle into their Bos Indicus cross breeding programs. “I attended the Gandy sale (yearling sale) last year and appreciated the make and shape of the offering, particularly the proven sire lines, and female heifer offering was impressive,” he said. “They (Gandy Angus) have similar breeding to our stud, with a concentration on weight for age.” The Holzwart’s interest in adding Gandy genetics into their line-up of stud sires reflected well on the versatile performance that was offered at the sale. Mr Holzwart also secured lot one, Gandy Paratrooper T53 for $18,000, an AI son of renowned sire Millah Murrah Paratrooper P15. Gandy Angus stud principal Kim Gandy said the February 2022-drop Paratrooper son (T53) was used extensively in the stud. “Although a year older than all his sale mates, I wanted to not only offer his exceptional quality, but also he demonstrated the full potential of his genetics in the sale ring,” he said. Both of Mr Holzwart’s seletions had similar Estimated Breeding Values with the sale topper, Gandy Man In Black recording a +5 birthweight, and +66, +109, and +141 for 200, 400 and 600-day weights. The excellent top 1 per cent for claw and angle recorded on Gandy Paratrooper T53 was noted in the catalogue as being a “foot improver”, while U148 was “used in the stud as a yearling”. Boyup Brook cattle producer Ben Creek was a first-time buyer of Gandy Angus bulls when he secured Gandy Stellar U308 for the $16,000 third top-price. Mr Creek runs a diversified livestock program of Merinos as well as a Suffolk stud and joins about 215 Angus cross South Devon breeders so as to not put “all their eggs in one basket”. “I was chasing eye muscle area and fat in my Angus bull selection,” he said. His successful bid on U308 had the right stuff with a top 14 per cent for EMA along with positive fat measurements for rib (+2.1) and rump (+2.3), top 12 and 13 per cent respectively. Repeat buyer Justin Omodei, of Pemberton, secured two bulls including Gandy Three Rivers U36 for $14,000 and Gandy Quarter Pounder U229 for $12,000. His selection was based on growth, frame, and temperament, with sound feet to go over mature cows in his family’s 150 self-replacing breeding herd. “We run with the helpful advice from Elders agent Brad McDonnell,” he said. Mr Omodei’s top pick (U36) had top 5 per cent growth EBVs including +73, +123 and +155 for 200, 400, and 600-day weights, a feature of its US sire Ellington Three Rivers that recorded +78, +145 and +177. Esperance cattleman Wes Graham secured the 844kg Gandy Geddes U155 for $14,000 through AuctionsPlus, the homebred bull offered as lot three came with a low birthweight (+2.1) suitable for mating heifers. Volume repeat buyer Alcoa Farmlands manager Vaughn Byrd secured nine bulls to a top of $7500 and average price of $8000 and average price of $5611. “I was chasing reliable performance bulls with good temperament and able to finish on both grass or grain,” he said. Mr Gandy said he was happy with the sale results, particularly selling into the Queensland stud pool. “The top end sold very well, but prices fell off the pace as expected with the current cattle market values,” he said. Elders auctioneer Nathan King said bidding competition on the top-end was a feature of the sale and the phone bids from Queensland made a welcome input into the results. GANDY ANGUS ANNUAL BULL SALE Offered: 51 Sold: 43 Top price: $20,000 Average: $7616