Gisborne, Wairoa and East Coast's Angus Bull Week starts on Sunday
The East Coast's Angus cattle studs present their rising-2-year-old bulls for sale by auction on Sunday when the ever-popular Bull Week gets under way.
Several hundred young black bulls will be sold over four days of sales.
Total sales for the 2024 season for black cattle across Wairoa, Gisborne and
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NZ Herald
a day ago
- NZ Herald
Gisborne, Wairoa and East Coast's Angus Bull Week starts on Sunday
The East Coast's Angus cattle studs present their rising-2-year-old bulls for sale by auction on Sunday when the ever-popular Bull Week gets under way. Several hundred young black bulls will be sold over four days of sales. Total sales for the 2024 season for black cattle across Wairoa, Gisborne and
Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Sale result testimony to life's work
Angus bull Fossil Creek Urban U032 AB sold for $71,000 in North Otago last week. PHOTO: SUPPLIED Fond memories of stud cattle breeder and veterinarian Neil Sanderson were shared at a North Otago bull sale last week, where an Angus bull fetched more than $70,000, setting a stud record. Of the 75 bulls on offer at the 25th annual Fossil Creek Angus sale, 71 sold, for an average price of $11,774 and with a top price of $71,000 for Fossil Creek Urban U032 AB. At the end of the sale, Fossil Creek co-owner Blair Smith held back tears as he spoke to more than 150 people about the impact the recent death of the stud's founder Neil Sanderson had on himself and his wife Jane. "The last month or so has been pretty hard with Neil missing. He has been a great mentor to Jane and myself and the proof of the pudding is what was in the yards," he said. Dr Sanderson died on April 19, age 68, after battling bowel cancer. Former Fossil Creek Angus stud co-owner Rose Sanderson. PHOTO: SHAWN MCAVINUE Before the sale started, Mrs Smith welcomed the crowd, dedicating the sale to Dr Sanderson. "He was a vet, a geneticist and a farmer all rolled into one. Neil and Rose Sanderson founded Fossil Creek more than three decades ago and we have been fortunate to have been able to buy in to that stud over the past decade, and we have been very fortunate to have Rose and Neil as our mentors." A moment of silence was observed for Dr Sanderson; the only sound in the auction room was the bulls bellowing outside. Mrs Sanderson, of Tai Tapu near Lincoln, was "blown away" by the sale result, and pleased she was there to see it. "Neil would be over the moon at the record for the stud," she said. The previous stud record was held by bull Fossil Creek Hero H006 which went for $55,000 in 2014. Fossil Creek Angus founder the late Neil Sanderson. PHOTO: SUPPLIED The Sandersons met when they were working on a Hereford cattle stud in Australia in 1989. He was working as a vet and she was working the cattle crush. "He had just implanted an embryo and he came up to me and introduced himself and wiped some s... off my face," she recalled. At the time, Dr Sanderson owned five Angus cows at Brightwater, near Nelson, where the stud was launched on Fossil Creek farm. When Mrs Sanderson moved to New Zealand, they shifted to an 180ha goat and cattle farm in Waikari, North Canterbury and bought into a machinery syndicate, helping them expand their farm operation to include a property at Hawarden. At the time he was working as a reproductive veterinarian for his company Advanced Genetics. Fossil Creek Angus stud owners Blair and Jane Smith and their children George, 13, Henry, 15, and Charlotte, 18. PHOTO: SUPPLIED They moved from Canterbury to North Otago for reasons that included "getting sick of the nor'west". The Sandersons ran their stud on the farm Crestlo in Fuchsia Creek. It was managed by Brian Davidson, a respected studmaster. Their farm operation expanded to include a block at Ngapara, a government-approved embryo export centre. Dr Sanderson did embryo transfers until about four years ago, with the assistance of vet Dave Robertson, as the work got more difficult to complete due to multiple sclerosis, which he had since 2013. After the diagnosis, he approached the Smith family about forming a partnership in the stud. "It worked so well. We've never had a cross word. There [were] no egos, the focus was always on the cattle and what was right for the clients," Mrs Sanderson said. Her husband's passion for breeding cattle never left him. PGG Wrightson Otago and Southland livestock genetics representative Callum McDonald has been helping sell bulls in the South. PHOTO: SHAWN MCAVINUE "He was using his brain a lot. He spent a lot of his time researching pedigrees and looking at breeding systems, and he was always so passionate about fertility." His academic work included researching heifer fertility, ovary dynamics in cattle and designing and implementing a programme recognising elite production females in the Angus breed. He was a former New Zealand Angus board member, responsible for its technical portfolio, and collaborated with other Angus breeders and AbacusBio to develop the E-Star platform, which aims to breed more efficient beef cattle, focusing on financial and environmental efficiency. The day before he died, he was chasing AbacusBio for pie graphs. "His brain was amazing until the end. He didn't give up." In his final week, his sister Annette asked him to name the best bull he had ever bred. "He answered 'I'm still working on it' — he lived and breathed it." Shian Angus co-owners Rob and Tracy Sherson set a record by paying the most for a bull in the history of the Fossil Creek stud. PHOTO: SHAWN MCAVINUE He is survived by his daughters Amelia, Ella and Georgia. Mrs Smith described Fossil Creek Urban U032 AB as a "beautiful" bull. The bull was sired by Te Mania Rustler R300 out of Fossil Creek Kristi P162. "We knew that he would be in demand and it is great he is heading to the North Island," she said. The buyers were Rob and Tracy Sherson, of Shian Angus stud in Taumarunui, King Country. "We knew we would have to pay a bit for him," Mr Sherson said. "He caught our eye as soon as we walked in the pen." The bull was a full outcross for their stud, having no genetic relationship with any of their herd. Waitaki Boys' High School students attending the sale were (from left) Archie Rooney, of Waimate, Charlie Hay, Zak Corder, both 16, Blake Mareta-Ria, 15 and Harry Mavor, 16, all of North Otago. PHOTO: SHAWN MCAVINUE Demand for beef cattle was strong due to a lack of supply due to farm conversions to forestry. "Around us, the farms that have gone into pine trees is horrendous. Thousands and thousands of cows have had their heads cut off," he said. Taimate Angus in Marlborough paid $20,000 for Fossil Creek Uruti U265 and Mount Linton Angus in Southland paid $25,000 for Fossil Creek Utuwai U153. PGG Wrightson Otago and Southland livestock genetics representative Callum McDonald said the bull sale season in Otago and Southland began in mid-May and finished at Fossil Creek last week. More than 500 bulls were offered at nearly 30 on-farm sales in the South and the season was "positive " due to a strong beef industry. Buyers were selective, targeting bulls they wanted across all breeds. The $71,000 paid for bull Fossil Creek Urban U032 AB was the highest price paid in the South this season and a nice end to the sale season, he said.
Otago Daily Times
10-06-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Bull pulls a record price
PHOTO: SHAWN MCAVINUE Angus bull Fossil Creek Urban U032 AB bellows after being sold for $71,000 at the 25th annual Fossil Creek bull sale in North Otago yesterday. The buyers, Rob and Tracy Sherson, of Shian Angus stud in Taumarunui, King Country, set a record by paying the most for a bull in the history of the Fossil Creek stud. Fossil Creek was the last in a series of on-farm sales in Otago and Southland this year and $71,000 was the highest price paid for a bull.
