Strong stock sale at Millers Flat Limehills stud

The top priced bull which sold for $33,000 at the Limehills Hereford stud's annual on-farm sale at Millers Flat. Photo: PGG Wrightson

Millers Flat Hereford breeders Gray and Robyn Pannett achieved a top price of $33,000 at their annual on-farm bull sale last week.

They sold 49 bulls for an average of $9512, which was their highest average yet. Prices ranged from $4200 through to the top priced bull, Limehills Starter, which sold to Nick and Penny France, from the Okawa stud at Mt Somers.

Another sold for $31,000 to David Henderson, from the Craigmore stud at Tamahere and Dr John Allen, from the Mahuta stud, at Tuakau.

Carrfields Livestock agent Roger Keach described it as a "very very strong sale" with a a tremendous line-up of bulls, possibly the best they had offered.

PGG Wrightson livestock genetic specialist Callum McDonald said some buyers had been to all 39 sales, while there were also some new faces in the gallery this year.About 90% of bulls headed to commercial farming operations in Otago and Southland and the balance to Canterbury.

Mr Pannett, who described the sale as a "ripper", said they ran a commercially focused operation.

"It's about identifying a bull that will add value to our client's farming system, as each bull will suit different operations," he said.

The couple have been farming the nearly 4000ha property in their own right since 2003.

The property ranges from 100m to 900m, from irrigated flats to native tussock, with 2500ha of tussock used only for summer grazing.

The farm ran 350 commercial breeding cows (Hereford and Hereford-Angus cross), 300 stud breeding cows, 5000 Romney breeding ewes and 1300 ewe hogget replacements.

The couple won the 2010 New Zealand Hereford Herd of Excellence award, established to identify a breeder who has achieved the highest standard with Hereford cattle and their total farming enterprise. Mr Keach said there was a lot of confidence being shown in quality stock at recent bull sales in the South.