NEWS.

Quarterway Angus bulls deliver again despite ‘driest year ever’

Quarterway Angus bulls delivered again at the stud’s annual sale at Lyndurst, Scottsdale, Tasmania, on Friday.

Stud co-principal Trevor Hall said he was “happy” with the sale’s result despite what he described as a “tough market”.

“The whole of Tasmania is as dry as I have ever seen,” he said.

“If we don’t get rain in the next few weeks, we’ll be having cold nights come Easter.”

Mr Hall said both Flinders and King Island were experiencing extremely dry conditions but that his bulls still turned out well on sale day.

The stud sold 48 of the 55 bulls it offered to a high of $19,000 and an average of $8680.

This compared to the 2023 autumn sale where 59 bulls were sold of the 61 offered to a top of $21,000 and an average of $9339.

The sale’s top-priced bull, Lot 16, Quarterway Time Square T43, was bought by Michael Coote, Tall Farming, Scottsdale, TAS.

The May 2022-drop bull was sired by Texas Reality P224 DXTP224 and out of Quarterway Nigella N182 TLHN182.

The sale topper recorded TransTasman Angus Cattle Evaluation figures of +3.5 square centimetres eye muscle area, birth weight of +3.7 kilograms, 200-day weight of +41kg, 400-day weight of +78kg and a 600-day weight of +103kg.

The bull also had intramuscular fat (IMF) of +0.7kg.

Mr Hall said Lot 16 was a “stand out” bull ahead of the sale but all the bulls presented were a “very even bunch”.

He said the bull was a “thick meat maker” and its dam was an “incredibly strong cow”.

Flinders Island commercial beef operators, the Bellinger Family, were volume buyers at the sale.

They brought home 10 of the 48 Quarterway Angus bulls.

Mr Hall said more than 90% of the customers on Friday had previously bought bulls at the stud.

He said the bulls were reared alongside his commercial beef operation and were therefore ready to perform in such a system.

He said there was strong support from across TAS, on both Flinders and King Island.

Mr Hall said global beef markets looked promising and if farmers could “ride the storm” of current prices and dry conditions, beef would turn profitable again in the near future.

Story courtesy Stock & Land