Surprise top seller at Littlebourne Farm’s 34th annual wapiti sire sale

Littlebourne Farm owner Geoff Pullar holds the 10kg velvet head of bull Yellow 42, the wapiti which sold for the top price at the annual sale. Photo / Shawn McAvinue

A Winton wapiti breeder got a full clearance of bulls at his sale but the top-price sire came as a surprise.

At the Littlebourne Farm 34th annual wapiti sire sale earlier this month, 18 bulls on offer sold for an average of $3300, including a top price of $6000.

Speaking to Southern Rural Life before the auction, farm owner Geoff Pullar said he was expecting the “star lot” of 3-year-old bull Yellow 44 to fetch the top dollar.

The bull had an average growth from birth to 12 months of 523g a day - the highest growth rate over all deer sales - and was in the top 5 per cent for 12-month weight in the Deer Select database.

Despite the impressive figures, Yellow 44 sold for $4200.

The top price of $6000 was paid for Yellow 42, which had a growth rate of 500g per day in its first year.

Littlebourne Farm 3-year-old wapiti bull Yellow 42 sold for $6000 at an annual sale in Winton. Photo / Shawn McAvinue

Local farmer Tommy May, a “velvet trophy guy”, preferred to use his eye, rather than Deer Select figures when buying sires, Pullar said.

“Some people love them [the figures] and other people couldn’t care less.”