Stern Angus has topped the breed for this season's farm auctions nationwide after a yearling bull sold for $18,000.
Stern 20100 overshadowed $17,000 paid earlier for a Waiterenui Angus yearling in Hawkes Bay, with several young bulls sold for over $10,000.
Final bids started from $2200 for the 39 yearlings offered by the Fraser family at their on-farm sale at Pleasant Point earlier this month.
The fourth-generation stud had full clearance with the top price, a yearling record for Stern and the overall average of $5200 a near-record.
Approximately 40 registered buyers and an online audience of 50 competed for the catalogue at an auction enclosure. Most of the yearlings went to commercial beef farms, and a handful went into dairy.
James Fraser said they had to resist keeping Stern 20100 for themselves.
He said they'd been asked many times why they decided to sell some of their top bulls, and it got harder to answer as the sale drew nearer. In the end, they decided to sell the bulls because they were stud quality.
Fraser said the sale price was not a surprise because they knew the yearling's phenotype and performance package would be sought after.
Its overall balance and high rankings in the self-replacing and Angus Pure indexes had caught the eye of at least eight bidders.
The Kane family from Tapanui won the top bid, while Stern 20118 was bought for $11,000 by the Sherson's from Black Ridge Angus, and Waihopai Valley's Leefield Angus took Stern 20131 for $10,500. Another stud bull went for $10,000 to Hillcroft Angus.
The three yearlings were sired by Te Mania 16463, which the Frasers bought in 2018. Another 11 bulls with the same sire are being kept for Stern's next June sale.
Fraser said it was great to get the high prices but was also pleased buyers could get bulls across the full price range.
The successful result followed Stern's June sale when Tangihau paid $64,000 for Stern 19061, a record. The average price was just over $11,500, with 78 out of 80 sold.
