The drought hasn’t produced many good news stories from the land but on Friday the Rayleigh Poll Herefords sale at Burren Junction bucked this trend when the auctioneer’s hammer went down on a $12,000 bull sale.
“We’re blown away,” said Jeff Holcombe who runs the ‘Rayleigh’ cattle stud with his wife Robyn and two daughters Sarah and Anna Holcombe.
‘Rayleigh’ sold 22 of the 26 bulls on offer topping at $12,000 and averaging at $5363, and nine of the 12 heifers topping at $1750.
The $12,000 bull, Rayleigh Nile N052, was purchased by Tom Lyons of ‘Parmedman’ Gulargambone.
“We were all just thrilled,” said Sarah Holcombe.
“State wide breeder numbers are a long way down and people have very little confidence in the weather patterns changing any time soon, so it was always going to be a tough year to be selling bulls.
“Rayleigh Nile N052 was certainly a standout amongst the offering this year.
“He is a good type of bull that is backed with performance data.
“The Lyons family, who purchased Nile, are clients that actually bought their first bull from us at the Dubbo National, earlier this year.
“We followed up with them after the sale and they said they would come out to our property for a look, and I must say – we are very glad they did,” added Sarah Holcombe.
“Nile was one of 10 bulls sired by our $70,000 sire Bowen Calibre K207 to be offered this year by Rayleigh.
“We had a lot of hope for these progeny because the commercial end product is really where we believe the Hereford breed needs to be heading.”
Sarah said the progeny are of sound structure, doing ability, performance and carcase.
“To see the line sell this well was very pleasing.”
The Holcombe family has been breeding Hereford stud cattle at ‘Rayleigh’, west of Burren Junction, since 1957.
And it’s clear a love of cattle runs in the Holcombe blood, with sisters Sarah and Anna both returning home from Queensland and Sydney for Friday’s sale.
Both sisters are heavily involved with the breeding operation.
“Annie and I have always been really passionate about the stud,” said Sarah Holcombe.
“We now both work within the agricultural industry and think we have a fair bit of influence, particularly on the marketing and genetics side of things.
“It is just something we have all enjoyed together as a family, and I think it’s really nice that we get to work on building it together.”
“We appreciate the support we have received in such a trying year.
“We’re very lucky to have had strong support from both repeat and first-time buyers that travelled from quite a wide area.”
Part of the ‘Rayleigh’ bull sale’s success lies with its innovative approach.
Landmark hosted the auction and buyers who couldn’t attend the day had the opportunity to bid via the AuctionsPlus website.
“This was our second year to run under a live video auction,” said Sarah Holcombe.
“I think that it was an invaluable decision for the sale both this year and moving forward.
“By having good video footage of each offering, it allows people to get a good feel for what they are buying.
“In a day where more and more people are regularly utilising online platforms like AuctionsPlus and social media, I think it’s a great way to reach people.
“I know that we had bidding from three states.
“The sale completely surpassed all expectations,” said Sarah Holcombe.
The sale was also an enjoyable, social gathering for many in the district, with the Holcombe family providing a delicious meal and drinks.
