Rising two-year-old bull, Mt Possession Q53, has sold at an on-farm sale at Hakatere Station for $88,000. Photo / Supplied
Angus stud breeders Donald and Leigh Whyte and Ryan and Sarah Hussey, of Mt Possession Angus, have sold a rising 2-year-old bull for an impressive $88,000.
The bull, called Mt Possession Q53, was sold at an on-farm sale at the Mt Possession Angus stud, at Hakatere Station in the Mid Canterbury high country, on June 14.
The price set a South Island record and was the highest price reached so far nationwide this sale season.
The record set last year was $104,000 for an Angus bull from Turiroa Stud, Wairoa.
"I knew he was a good bull. I wasn't anticipating that sort of money though," Hussey said.
"He looks good and is well put together," Hussey said.
"The really pleasing thing about him is he actually by a bull that we bred as part of the stud, out of a cow that we bred as well."
The sire's name is Mt Possession M13; he was born in 2016.
The couples have a 50-50 partnership in the stud, which is run at Hakatere Station, owned by the Whytes.
Hussey, who is also the manager of the sheep and beef side of the station's operation, said the auction - which was their first on-farm bull sale - had been quite a success, with 19 bulls sold out of the 20 up for sale. Lot 5 did not sell, but Hussey was confident he would be picked up.
Overall, the auction averaged $11,200 per bull, but without the record $88,000 sale, that price per bull dropped to around a $7000 each. All starting bids were at $4000.
Quite a few were bidding on him at the start and at least four were still in at $60,000, Hussey said.
And then two in the final bids.
He was bought by Angus stud breeder Max Tweedie, of Hallmark Angus.
Mt Possession Angus was started in 2015, when the Whyte-Hussey partnership bought 26 in-calf cows and eight yearling heifers from Bruce Alexander's Goldwyn Angus Stud dispersal sale at Hunter, near Waimate.
It was also a great morale booster after the late-May flooding event which had caused fencing and track damage, roads ruined, the bridge to Mt Possession wiped out, and at least one house at the deer farm on Mt Possession flooded by around 60cm (a couple of feet) of water.
However Mr Hussey said those on the station had fared a lot better than others downstream.