ONE of Australia's largest and oldest stud Angus herds went under the hammer at Willalooka in the Upper South East of South Australia today.
Willalooka Basin attracted a small and subdued crowd for their dispersal of more than 500 females and calves.
The stud business had been built up over 30 years by the late Alan McGregor and manager Malcolm McDonald. In 2008 Willalooka Pastoral bought The Basin Angus stud and joined it to Willalooka Angus, taking its numbers of registered females to 1800.
Alan and Skye's sons Stirling and Thyne and families have now decided to focus on a simple, commercial operation.
The entire sale grossed $594,400, with a clearance rate 425 selling from 566 cows, heifers and bull calves offered.
Thyne said the sale had "met expectations".
Mixed age cows topped at $6000, twice and 151 sold, averaging $1774.
Pregnancy-tested-in-calf, calved heifers, fetched a top price of $4400 and avergaed $1688 for the 105 that sold.
In the calves, 72 males sold for an average of $890 and top of $2400. The female calves, four to five months, sold up to $2000 and averaged $743 for the 84 that sold.
Embryo-transfer calves sold to $3000 and averaged $1634 for those 13 that sold.
Coolana Angus, Chatsworth, were one of the most prominent studs buying at Willalooka Basin.
Jodie and Shane Foster, Boonaroo Angus at Casterton also dipped into the cow offering. Granite Ridge Angus also bid strongly.
Volume commercial buyer was Perry Gunner, Gemlake, Coorong Angus Beef and Wanderribby custom feedlot, at Meningie, in the South East of South Australia.
Wanderribby is an EU and CAAB accredited feedlot, where the Gunners can feed 6000 head for their own markets, and custom feed "significant" numbers for T&R Pastoral. They also have a 3000-head lamb feedlot.
Mr Gunner, who is also deputy chairman of Viterra, formerly ABB Grain, bought 24 cows on day one of the sale, and 27 animals on the second day.
Mr Gunner said the purchases would help improve the genetics of his Coorong Beef Angus herd. The branded beef product is sold in five of the Gunner family's own outlets and to 200 restaurants.
"The prices were very reasonable here, if you were a buyer, and there was a very big selection of well-presented cattle," he said.
Mr Gunner said he was constantly looking for more producers to supply Coorong Angus Beef, which requires a year-round supply of 350-400kg cattle for feedlotting.
"The grain prices are helping us now, but the cattle prices are not; the Japanese market really has put a dampener on things, but it is better than this time last year," he said.
Sales of the company's branded products were holding up "extremely well", despite the financial climate, he said.
Buyer of the equal-top priced cow was Susan Gristwood and son James Cleland, Glentrae Pastoral for their Adelaide Angus stud. In all they bought six.
Also paying $6000 for a cow were Blythe Brothers, Fernleigh.
Another volume commercial buyer was Robara, Robe.
Landmark auctioneer Kevin Norris said the sale result was good, given the current state of the industry, and overload of dispersals.
"The genetics were very good and sold to rates consistent with today's market," Mr Norris said.
Elders' Larryn Gogel said the quality of the cattle was outstanding and the result was better-than-expected, following a degree of nervousness about whether demand would be there in the lead-up.
He said a lack of interstate interest, particulalry from NSW, would also be evident in coming weaner sales this season.
Willalooka had bred Murray Greys since 1965 and Angus cattle for 10 years.
The Basin Angus was started by Don Moyle in 1961, until 1999, when it was sold to Steven Stone and managed by Don's daughter Libby and her husband Bruce Creek until 2007.
Members of the McGregor, Moyle and Creek families were on hand to see the closing of the final chapter in the two stud's history.
There are 300 bulls yet to be sold next year.
