New Zealand wapiti bull Red 53 fetched the highest price of $6000 at Littlebourne Farm's 33rd annual wapiti sire sale in Winton. Photo / Shawn McAvinue
Serene wapiti stags attracted buyers to a sale in Central Southland.
Littlebourne Farm owner Geoff Pullar said he was "pretty happy" with the 33rd annual on-farm wapiti sire sale in Winton last week.
Of the 19 bulls on offer, 17 sold.
The remaining two bulls were sold by private treaty the following day.
The 19 bulls sold for an average price of more than $3500.
The average price was lower than a decade earlier but was slightly up on last year.
At the sale this year, a 3-year-old bull, Red 53, fetched the highest price of $6000.
"He's a good all-rounder but better in velvet," Pullar said.
The catalogue listed Red 53 as being rated second equal for velvet on New Zealand's national deer recording database Deer Select.
Keith and Annette Stanley bought Red 53 for their 340ha farm Scotston in Fairlie.
Stanley said the temperament of the bulls kept them coming back to the sale.
"They are quiet and I really enjoy working with them and I can take my grandkids into the paddock," Stanley said.
Pullar said the bulls had good temperaments because they spent their first winter in a shed.
He would continue to improve the traits of his herd by introducing genetics using artificial insemination.
He usually used the process every second year but had used it for the past two consecutive years to continue to improve traits, which included heavier velvet and carcass weight.
"Slowly but surely," Pullar said.
Kiwifruit growers' enthusiasm for a terrific fruit-producing season has been tempered.