Four Wairarapa Angus bull stud auctions have been completely cleared, with the top price paid just shy of $30,000.
PGG Wrightson sheep and beef representative Andrew Jennings had anticipated that the auctions would struggle in the current economic farming climate and was pleasantly surprised at the result.
“Each sale had really quality bulls, and that reflected in the confidence of our commercial farmers,” Jennings said.
“Even though times are tough, they still spent good money on bulls, and we sold them all.”
The first auction [May 30] was at Tapiri Angus where 20 bulls were sold at an average of $8170 per head.
These bulls were the first sons of the Kaharau Olympic Angus bull, which Tapiri purchased in 2021 for $106,000 in shares with another stud owner.
During the second sale on the same day, Dandaloo Angus Stud sold 31 bulls, averaging $7625 per head.
The next day [May 31] Oregon Angus auctioned 33 bulls at an average of $8300 per head.
The last sale was at Kay Jay Angus, which sold 40 Angus bulls, averaging $11,700 per head, with the top price of $29,000 paid by another stud owner.
“The highlights were all studs and values were maintained, and the average of each sale was consistent,” Jennings said.
“Although we were expecting a big drop in averages”, he said, “there was probably a drop of $1,000 from last year, which wasn’t too much retrospectively.”
Jennings also noted that all the auctions had bigger crowds than expected, with a good community feel.
“Even if you’re not buying a bull and you neighbour that stud, the community come out and support.”
Throughout the sales the demand was strong in Wairarapa and Hawke’s Bay regions, Jennings said.
Wairarapa is usually one of the first cabs off the rank with bull stud auctions, he added, followed by King Country, Marlborough, Canterbury, Otago, and Waikato, and finishing with Gisborne at the end of June.
