WBA Director Rob Cumine pays $AUS 3,050 (£1,525) per straw
Congratulations to Rob on his winning bid. Here's how it was reported on the Australian Wagyu Association's website.
A package of 10 straws of Wagyu semen sold for $30,050 or $3050/straw in a record breaking sale at the 2016 #WagyuRevolution Conference in the New South Wales Hunter Valley on Wednesday.
United Kingdom Wagyu breeder Rob Cumine placed his winning bid through Auctionsplus beating off a gallery of six bidders to obtain the semen from Mayura Itohhigenami Jnr offered by Scott de Bruin from Mt Gambier, SA.
This price has been claimed as an Australian record, and possibly a world record, for Wagyu semen.
High carcase weight and marbling EBVs elevated this sire to the top 1% of the Fullblood Terminal Index (FTI) with 70 recorded progeny generating high reliability.
The FTI figures indicate each of his progeny should be worth $500 more than the average Wagyu based on carcase weight, yield and marbling according to Wagyu Association CEO Graham Truscott.
“Through AI, this bull could have say 1000 progeny a year which is a bonus of $500,000,” he said.
The sale, conducted by Landmark, grossed $319,250 with 12 females selling to $11,000 and averaging $8416 with the highlight being six young females in the top 10% of FTI offered by Peppermill Grove in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley. These averaged $9500 and included the top price, believed to be the highest auction price ever for a Wagyu female in Australia.
Buyer of all six Peppermill Grove females was Omar Bchinnati of Yarra Valley Wagyu, a newcomer to the Wagyu breed who was not at the sale but purchased 14 lots for $$88,650 through Auctionsplus to set up a Wagyu breeding operation in Victoria’s Yarra Valley.
Fifteen bulls sold at an average $6823 with a top of $12,000 paid twice for bulls offered by Lillian Jimenez’s Darley stud, Chatswood, NSW and bought by Cabassi Wagyu, Brisbane.
Biggest bull buyer was Charlie Hart of Landmark, Barraba, NSW, who purchased seven bulls for $32,000. These bulls will go to Landmark clients for F1 production in the Barraba region.
Thirty embryos sold in packages of six averaged $877/embryo with a top of $1100 for embryos offered by Trent Bridge Wagyu, Armidale, NSW, and purchased by Overtime Partnership, Emerald, Qld.
“The sale prices clearly corresponded to the EBV and Fullblood Terminal Index figures, indicating the market’s fast growing reliance on the AWA performance figures,” said Mr Truscott.
Anna Speers of Auctionsplus said the sale was one of the most successful through the online system with 61% of the bids placed through the online system. Landmark branches were responsible for buying close to half the offering for clients.