The first bulls by Australia’s record-breaking Santa Gertrudis sires have lifted the NIOA RL Pastoral Sale to its best result in three years.
With 42 sons of $250,000 Yarrawonga Spartacus S316 (P) and $160,000 Riverina Roland Sanchez R88 (PP) heading up the 68 catalogued Classified S bulls, NIOA Santa Gertrudis General Manager Shannon Gardner rated the 2025 draft as “the best line of bulls we’ve had by far” – and the proof was in the purchasers.
The blue-chip bulls contributed to a sale total of $874,500 – the best gross since Allora-based NIOA and Kyogle’s RL joined forces in 2022.
Buyers from throughout Queensland, Northern New South Wales and the Northern Territory voted with their feet – and cheque books - at Talgai Homestead on Thursday, outlaying a total of $529,000 for the 2023 Spartacus and Roland Sanchez spring drop calves for an average of $12,595.
“We’re very pleased with the results,” Mr Gardner said. “We made a significant investment in genetics and undertook extensive selective breeding to produce a product we hoped would be well received by the industry. Buyers appear to have responded well to the direction we have taken.
“We really appreciated the support we received from some exceptional studs and a wide geographic spread of commercial buyers.”
In total, 77 bulls were offered and 74 sold for an average of $11,283 and clearance of 96 per cent. Seven out of 10 poll heifers sold for an average of $4428 while all three 10-straw semen packages from Spartacus, Roland Sanchez and Yulgilbar Queens Council sold for a total of $8500 with an average of $283 per straw.
Sale manager Rob Sinnamon, presiding over his 36th on-property auction, was pleased with the overall result including his stud’s Lot 4 homozygous bull Riverina Ulysses U68 which topped the sale at $40,000, knocked down to first time buyers Daniel Stoten and Paul Purdue, “Karinya Downs”, from Doon Doon in New South Wales.
“It’s been a great result,” he said. “We’ve seen such tremendous support from a wide cross section of people in the business.
“It was always a long game - breeding stud cattle is – it takes three years from conception to sale when you purchase a bull and go through the process of breeding whether it is through IVF, natural breeding or AI.
“But those steps we put in place back in 2022 (with the investment in Spartacus and Roland Sanchez) they have come to fruition today.”
The 34 NIOA Classified bulls averaged $13,264 for a 100 per cent clearance under the stick, including the second-best price of $32,000 for Lot 13 NIOA Van V48 (IVF) (P) who will be put to work as an impact sire at Auburn Farming, at Trangie in New South Wales.
It was “lucky 13” for Ian Heckendorf who was attending his first NIOA RL event.
“I couldn’t believe it when we got him,” said Mr Heckendorf who was among more than 150 people in the stands. “A few of the big boys were here – I was panicking - I thought they would knock me out (of the bidding).
“I’m tickled pink - he’s a very complete bull. I’ve been wanting to come here and very pleased that I did.”
Fellow NIOA RL sale new entrants and bulk buyers Bill and Dallas Scott, “MacDonald Downs”, were equally impressed with the genetics.
The Scotts outlaid $142,000 for 12 cattle as they look to refresh the bull battery at their 270,000ha property at Hart Range near Alice Springs.
“We’re culling some of our older bulls, we wanted to put in new variants, new bloodlines, and you’ve got lovely, classic characteristics in your bulls,” Ms Scott said.
Riverina stud’s Andrew and Lorraine Sinnamon with Daniel Stoten and Paul Purdue, “Karinya Downs”, and NIOA RL Pastoral Sale topper Riverina Ulysses ($40,000) while NIOA Van is pictured with NIOA Santa Gertrudis owners Rob and Eliza Nioa and first-time buyer Ian Heckendorf who took home the second top priced bull, a son of Yarrawonga Spartacus, for $32,000.
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