Lot 2.
This year will mark the 52nd year of breeding pedigree recorded Angus cattle for the Mt Mable Angus stud based in Kumeroa.
The two year old bull sale on June 10 will be the 34th annual on farm sale and the fourth to take place in the selling complex on Jackson Road. The Friel family have held two previous two year old bull sales and an inaugural yearling bull sale at their current location. The Friel's bought the 263ha farm in 2016, relocating from 890ha Pukerimu Station in Norsewood.
After a massive effort to de-convert and tidy up the run-down property, the Friels are finally enjoying the quieter pace of life that they desired by reducing their land holding and selling the thousands of sheep which previously vied for their attention with the stud cattle on the station. A kinder climate also helps with the quality of life for both the stock and humans.
The 2018 two year old sale was the most successful the stud has enjoyed with all but one of the bulls offered sold on the day for an average of $10,607. A Braveheart of Stern son at Lot 2 sold for the top price of $20,000 to the Gower family of Tokirima, who are into the second generation of Mt Mable bull buyers, and have been buying one Mt Mable bull every year since 1982. The Gower family takes good care of the six bought-in sire bulls on hand at any one time, casting one bought-in bull for age every year, and replacing him with a new two-year-old bull accordingly. The Frielssay there are never vendor sale credits competing with legitimate bidding at any time at any of their bull auctions, and while they have a comprehensive three year guarantee on any bull sold (including the yearling bulls) this has only been called on in one instance in the last three years.
This average is a good indication of the number of times that a Mt Mable bull has failed to live up to everybody's expectations during the three years of a guarantee over the last 15 years at least.
Two stud bulls also sired by Braveheart of Stern were sold in 2018, one going locally to the newly formed Gembrooke Angus stud based at Kia Ora Station and another to the Shian stud of the Sherson family from Taumarunui.
The 2018 yearling sale was also hugely successful when held in September, with a total clearance of all 26 yearling bulls for an average price of just over $3600. Another three, two-year-old bulls were also sold at the yearling sale for a complete clearance. Even after selling those 26 bulls as yearlings, the Friels are confident that the 2017 born two-year-old bulls to be offered on June 10 are equally good, if not superior to the 2016 born bulls sold in 2018, with the line being even right through to the last lot. There are a variety of bloodlines for buyers to choose from, with the mainstays Mt Mable Fat Boy 373 and Taimate Vintage 276 being joined by Kay Jay Bond H521 which has had sons sold at Kay Jay stud in the Wairarapa with much success.
There will also be bulls sired by the most heavily used Angus stud bull in Australasia, Matauri Reality 839.
This bull has a very attractive spread of data, according to Breedplan, which has made him popular, and is a multi-trait leader for calving ease which is why he was used via A/I at Mt Mable for yearling heifer mating.
It will be interesting for bull buyers to compare the bulls that, according to Breedplan, are far superior to those bulls which have estimated breeding values in the more familiar ranges at Mt Mable sales.
This year's bulls by Mt Mable Fat Boy 373 will be some of the last offered.
Kevin and Megan Friel are expecting more calves born by the old bull later this year as he was run as a rising 13-year-old bull with especially selected cows during the last mating season.
Mt Mable Fat Boy 373 continues to be well represented in catalogues from many leading studs this year through the widespread use of his $100,000 grandson Rangatira 13-38.
There are also several good bulls for sale at the end of June at Rangatira stud near Gisborne by his son Mt Mable Thor 660, bought as a two year old at the 2012 two-year-old bull sale at Pukerimu Station.
In addition Mt Mable Fat Boy 373 was entered in Cohort 2 of the Beef and Lamb progeny benchmarking project for which the results will be publicly available shortly. As expected by the Friels, Mt Mable Fat Boy 373's progeny growth rates were at the end of the spectrum, however the bull redeemed himself quite spectacularly by climbing up the ranks of 52 bulls, including exotic Charolais and Simmental breeds to finish ranked sixth for heifer progeny pregnancy (out of 35 other maternal bulls), 3/52 for ossification (directly linked to tenderness) and 18/52 for progeny meeting the Silver Fern Farms EQ Reserve specs.
The pregnancy results from Fat Boy's daughters is very pleasing the Friels say, but so is the carcase performance of the progeny from a bull ranked considerably lower for these traits than most other Angus bulls to which he was being compared.
The Friels look forward to showing the two-year-old bulls for sale at an open day on the afternoon of May 24 and then again on June 10 on sale day.