Bonnydale sells two at $23,000 top

First time buyers pushed top prices to $23,000 at the Bonnydale Black Simmental Bull Sale on Monday when the Introvigne family hosted their 26th annual sale at their Bridgetown farm. Overall, they offered and sold 50 Black Simmental bulls through Elders and interfaced with AuctionsPlus that set a new stud average price of $12,570. Also catalogued was 26 SimAngus bulls that all sold to a top of $14,000 and average price of $8712, Two standout Black Simmental bulls sold for the equal $23,000 top price with one sold to an Albany buyer and the other to a Queensland stud. Looking to register the Wandella Black Simmental stud this year, Doug Johnston, who trades as PN & DN Johnston & Co in Albany, secured Bonnydale Nukara S066 for top money. The 13-month-old yearling bull weighed in at 730kg and was genomic tested as both homozygous black and polled. Assisted by Ballawinna Angus stud principal Mick Pratt, Mr Johnston also secured Bonnydale Nashville S122 for $21,000. Bonnydale stud co-principal Rob Introvigne said S122 was the number one performance calf of the stud’s 2021 drop. The highly rated bull, along with S066, will go to work in establishing Mr Johnston’s new seedstock enterprise, which he intends to fast track with an embryo transfer program with his first investment in Bonnydale genetics. Another bull thought highly of by Mr Introvigne was Bonnydale Broad Range S035 that sold as the $23,000 equal top-priced bull to first-time buyers Tony Horvath and Roslyn Ware, who run the Fairview Black Simmental stud in Mungallala Queensland. Mr Horvath, who placed his bids through AuctionsPlus, said the bull caught his eye via photos and videos. “He represents outcross genetics for our stud and we particularly liked his figures for low birthweight, short gestation length, calving ease and his growth was not too extreme,” he said. “Also he had extra marbling and fat and is moderate in frame which is important in our marginal country.” Mr Horvath said the bull would be used as a back-up in the stud’s AI program and his calves would be monitored for potential semen sales in the future. The bull was sold with 50 per cent semen rights retained by Bonnydale. Bonnydale Broad Range S035 was a first drop son of import sire Gibbs Broad Range 7382E, one of four newly introduced sires at the stud. It ranked in the top 2 per cent for birthweight (-2.8) for Expected Progeny Differences and top 3 per cent for calving ease (16.6). The under bidder on S035 was Wannamal producer Jerry Ogerly who secured another Broad Range son for $18,500. Mr Ogerly was chasing a low birthweight bull to put over 25 Angus cows. “This was my first Bonnydale bull and it will be used as a terminal sire in my crossbreeding program,” he said. Long-time supporter of the sale Alf Carroll, who trades as Tirano Farms in Cundinup, secured two top-order bulls for $16,000 and $14,000. “I put the Black Simmental bulls over Freisian cross Angus cows and the combination has lifted my production of kilograms per hectare enormously,” he said. The $14,000 top-priced SimAngus bull, Bonnydale SA Matauri S449 weighing in at 808kg, heaviest in the sale, sold to Chapman Hill-based HM & OE Hopkins. Volume buyer of mostly SimAngus bulls was repeat account Big Valley Pastoral in Eneabba, which secured six bulls to a top of $12,500 and average price of $10,667. Repeat buyer Brendon Giudici, who trades as KM & BJ Giuddici & Son in Donnybrook, secured three bulls for an average price of $12,334. Nine bulls sold through AuctionPlus to two buyers in Queensland and one in NSW.