Bull sale
11th June, 10 am
Stortford Lodge Saleyards
Postponement date 9th July
2020 – what a year to date! A triple whammy of drought, COVID-19 and TB movement control has put the stud under serious pressure. But pressure makes diamonds - and by that we mean an opportunity to cull. Lean, large or high maintenance cattle that don’t cope shedding weight and condition are no good in any type of country - but most importantly where feed is limited. The clean up on our steep hills at Mokara continues to provide an excellent breeding ground for cattle with constitution. Bulls that shift are bred from cows with thrift – in the sort of country they ought to be in.
We made the early call in the winter of 2019 to shift our bulls our new property ‘Brancott’ at Waiwhare - just off the Napier-Taihape Road. This has turned out to be a great call as we can continue to supply bulls to the market without any risks to buyers for this season. This is Brancott is outside the movement control area - that covers around 1/3 of the bay in its Northern reaches. All bulls have been TB tested clear (regardless of Brancotts C10 status) prior to sale as an extra precaution to protect you.
5th annual Sale featuring 26 sons of:
Belter (Millah Murrah Loch Up L133) – for power
Capitalist (LD Capitalist 316) – to thicken your girls up
Down Stream (Te Mania Upriver 15427) – if you’re in need of a paddle
We are really excited to put up the first Millah Murrah Loch Up sons. We’ve called them all ‘Belters’ as they really are. As calves and right the way through if you pointed to an attractive bull in the paddock - without reading his tag you could just about guarantee he was a Belter. Loch Up sold for $80,000 in Australia in 2017 and has gone on to become one of the most highly used sires there since. Max arranged a syndicate of 5 NZ studs to secure the kiwi semen rights the same year. Without a doubt he’s added bone, capacity, thickness and power - something we are used to with our east coast based herd but with a real data lift that we are particularly keen on.
We refuse to use a sire if he hasn’t been viewed and researched to within an inch of his life. LD Capitalist is a great example. Max met the bull in Montana in 2017 and he’s done exactly the sort of job he’d anticipated. A ripping maternal breeding sire that drops frame but thickens the progeny - whilst giving away nothing in growth and performance.
Two things to note; 1) We are committed to travel and invest heavily in genetics. Our sires are at the average of the breed for sale price - so you win when purchasing a Hallmark sire when compared to our investment in sires. 2) Our bulls are shifted with grunty dogs and we firmly believe they have breed leading temperament.
This year we welcome Sue Coldicutt from Matai Mara Angus in Cambridge to the sale. She will enter two Stern bred bulls to complement the Hallmark draft. Sue was stud principal at Takapoto Angus where she started the herd from scratch and very quickly went on to have record breaking yearling sales. We have real confidence in Sues ability and are stoked to have her involved in 2020 – we found Loch Up with Sue on a trip to Australia in 2017.
Good coffee and Roses homemade pies will be sure to please at the sale at Stortford Lodge on June 11th. Private sales available from June 12th. We have scheduled a postponement date of July 9th if the sale is forced to postpone due to COVID-19 restrictions.
