Big black angus bulls dominated the national cattle stud sales at Beef Expo this week. More than $750,000 changed hands at the sales with almost half of that being paid for angus bulls. The two top sales of $26,000 and $25,000 were angus bulls and, to round the expo off, the breed featured in the steak of origin contest to find the nation’s tastiest beef steaks.

A steak from a limousin-angus heifer raised by sisters Kathy Child and Yvonne Hill, of Whangarei, was judged the overall winner while an angus steak from Chef’s Choice, Whanganui, won the overall best of brand section for retail and wholesale butcheries. Angus also took out the first three places in the best of British breeds section. The four-day expo in Feilding is a shop window for many breeders who will be hoping to lure breeders and commercial farmers to their on- farm sales over the next two months reports The Dom Post.

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Despite some spirited bidding, overall sales were down at Beef Expo, the Manawatu Standard writes. The global recession and drought both took their toll on farmer confidence at the national beef sales held last week at Feilding’s Manfield Park as part of Beef Expo 2009. PGG W’s national stud stock auctioneer and NZ genetics manager Bruce Orr said overall sales were probably down about $300,000, as there were fewer bulls auctioned and prices were back on last year. He said weaner (young cattle) sales had been buoyant, with most making more than the same-sized cattle in 2008, but the positives of better beef sales and higher lamb prices had not come through to the national bull beef sales.

“We didn’t have good sales. The weather was cold, there’s a drought in some areas and the psychological impact of the recession. No one of them by themselves could be blamed, but put them all together and they ate out people’s confidence,” Mr Orr said. Top prices and averages were back on last year. “We did get some spirited bidding on bulls people liked, but nowhere near the highs of last year. Slower and harder bidding, that’s what we saw at these sales,” he said.

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