Demand for Angus Females knows no bounds

If one thing has become clear across the beef industry in the last couple of years, it is that cattle producers offering Angus females for sale are reaping the rewards from a market that continues to rise.

John Settree, Nutrien, Carmen & Jeremey Cooper, Robert & Jack Mackenzie, Corey Ireland and Andrew Shofay Mackas Angus. Image: Showcase by Branded Ag

The demand for both seedstock and commercial Angus females continues to grow. Seedstock Records Fall

The Circle 8 30th Anniversary Bull and Female Sale, Marulan NSW provided a number of reasons to celebrate with 78 heifers achieving a full clearance for a record-breaking average of $20,950. The females offered represented the entire drop of S heifer calves, after culling, bred at Circle 8, with each heifer offered fully parent verified. This result eclipsed the previous record average for Angus females sold at auction held by Millah Murrah Angus when they sold 234 females for an average of $ 13,709 at the Millah Murrah Female sale in 2017. Hitting the top price of $140,000 and what is a record for the highest price unjoined registered Angus heifer under 18 months, was Circle 8 Rosebud S669, purchased by Robert Mackenzie from Mackas Angus, Salt Ash NSW. This record has stood since 2006, when The Grange A180 sold for $38,000 to Alpine Angus, Porepunkah, Vic and Vermont Angus, Penshurst, Vic. In the lead up to the sale, Circle 8’s Jeremy Cooper didn’t have any expectations of what the heifers would make, as there really wasn’t anything to benchmark it against. ‘As we drew closer to the sale, it was very evident that she (Circle 8 Rosebud S669) was going to be the leader that was going to make a bit of money.’ ‘From my perspective, she is in the top 1% for marbling and while she may not have the perfect data set, she actually has skin and hair, head and jaw, and physical volume and body mass, like a traditional Angus heifer should, with three times the breed average for marbling.’ For the family, the results from this sale still haven’t really sunk in. ‘But doing it on my 30-year anniversary, it gives me a little bit of comfort or a bit of encouragement to keep plugging on because obviously people have respect for what we do. For me it’s not necessarily about the record, it’s about the enthusiasm for the sale and the interest in the sale and the outcome of the sale spells that out to me.’ When asked why he believes producers are willing to spend on Angus females at the moment Jeremy notes that there are a lot of contributing factors to that. ‘Two or three springs on the back of each other, unheard of in my lifetime, exceptionally high commodity prices, unheard of in my time and we’re in a herd re-building phase, the stars have sort of aligned.’ When considering this demand, both from a seedstock and commercial perspective, Mr Cooper quoted Albert Einsteins’ mantra ‘”Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.’ ‘So it’s just simple, they are black, they are salable, whether it’s a drought and the market is compressed like in 2019 or a rip-roaring best season you have ever had, Angus cattle still made a premium. ‘Whether the market is at a low or a high, Angus cattle consistently make a premium every day of the week.’ Mr Cooper also notes that Angus are a ‘global juggernaut’. ‘People getting into cattle that may not have an agricultural background, they look at it and go, well, Angus is the option because they make more money and they’ve got lots of science and information and validation of why they’re good and why they make more money behind them with a global database. Not just a domestic database, a global database.’ He also credits eating quality as a significant factor. ‘We harp on about eating quality a lot, but it’s the reality. The consumer at the end of the supply chain has become wiser and they’re demanding a more consistent product that delivers eating quality experiences consistently, time after time and Angus delivers that.’ When looking to the future for the Angus breed Mr Cooper believes the breed is at a crossroads.

‘We have to actually decide where Angus fits in and what we want the Angus animal to look like.’ ‘I have very clear views about how Angus cattle should look and how they should perform and how they should behave on a dinner plate or on a rail or in the field.’ ‘We need to see our cowboy hats and scientific hats combine.’ That is Mr Cooper believes that by using both the data available and the phenotypes, ‘You can bring them together and try to make the best decisions that we can, so we eliminate hazard risks for our customers.’ ‘We need to become diligent. The people who will be successful in the Angus breed going forward will be those who identify what the Angus cow really needs to be and what she needs to deliver. The reality is the cattle have to have structural integrity, longevity, fertility, and then they have to have eating quality built into their pedigrees, built into their genome, and if you can do that, you’ll be successful,’ he said. In looking at the future of the beef industry as a whole, it is consistency and quality that Mr Cooper believes should be front of mind. ‘That’s simple, if you’re going to be the champion of the proteins place, it has to be consistent and it has to be good every time.’

Commercial Angus Females In Demand

As has become custom many Angus seedstock producers are offering commercial Angus females from their commercial program as part of their on property bull sales in order to showcase their genetics. A result that is certainly paying dividends for these producers, with the females being offered in conjunction at these sales taking the limelight. The results achieved has seen multiple records fall, as the demand for quality Angus females shows no bounds across the industry. At the Sugarloaf Angus Bull and Female Sale in August, 8 weaned Angus heifers hit a high of $5,000 per head to break the record for unjoined commercial Angus females. The record-breaking heifers were 10-11 months old and weighed an average of 400kg. Dillon & Sons agent and assessor describe the heifers as ‘showing great weight for age and given the opportunity will grow out into ideal future breeders.’ The record for commercial Angus cows with calves was also broken when 3 PTIC heifers with calves sold for $11,000 per head. This record was previously set at the Maitland store sale in January 2022 when 7 Angus heifers and calves were sold by Weirick and Senn for $5,800. The third record to go was for PTIC commercial Angus heifers, with 4 heifers hitting a high of $6,500. The previous high for this category was $4,600 set by Brooklana Angus in an online heifer sale in March 2021. In the breakdown the following results were achieved: · $11,000/head, pen of 3 PTIC heifers and calves · $7,000/head, pen of 3 Cows and calves · $6,000/head, pen of 3 PTIC cows · $5,500/head, pen of 3 PTIC heifers · $6,500/head, pen of 4 PTIC heifers · $5,000/head, pen of 8 weaned heifers, 10-11 months old, 400kg average · $4,200/head, pen of 8 weaned heifers, 10-11 months old, 378kg average · $4,200/head, pen of 9 weaned heifers, 9-10 months old, 362kg average The result for unjoined commercial Angus heifers broke a record that had only been set a week prior to the Sugarloaf, at the Knowla Livestock Sale where a pen of 18 unjoined commercial Angus heifers hit a high of $4,800 per head. The 10-11 month old heifers averaged 310kg and were described by Elders Agent and assessor, Shane Rule as ‘heifers would suit a buyer looking to start a quality herd of Angus females or could be a great asset to any existing commercial herd.’ Overall 100 unjoined commercial Angus females were offered to average $4453, which in itself eclipses the previous record. In the breakdown the following results were achieved: · $4,600/hd, pen of 16, 15-16 months old, 441kg average · $4,200/hd, pen of 15, 15-16 months old, 433kg average · $4,500/hd, pen of 15, 15-16 months old, 382kg average · $4,200, pen of 18, 10-11 months old, 362kg average · $4,400, pen of 18, 10-11 months old, 334 kg average · $4,800, pen of 18, 10-11 months old, 310kg average This result incidentally saw Knowla break a record they set at their 2021 sale when they sold a pen of 15 Angus Verified heifers top of $4,200 and 90 overall for an average of $3,283. Knowla Livestock’s, Jack Laurie said that, ‘With the National herd rebuild still occurring, it is easy to see why a premium for Angus females continues to be seen within the market place.’ ‘The Angus herd over last 20 years has made genetic gain driven via evolving genetic tools and technologies. Thus, it is a perfect time for people to step up their breeding program and to move into Angus females,’ he said.