Knauf’s claim an expo’s worth of awards
THE KNAUF family from northern Hawke’s Bay went into their annual bull sale week smiling from a successful 2016 Beef Expo and Future Beef in Feilding.
Jon and Sam Knauf and their children Lauren, Tessa and Ben, took home awards from the Steak of Origin, the Future Beef Hoof and Hook steer competition, handling and stock judging competitions and the heifer class, as well as selling the three heifers at the national sale.
After being finalists for the past four years, the Knaufs came first and third in the Best of Breed: European section at the Steak of Origin competition with a simmental processed at Land Meat Wanganui.
They had two placings in the heavyweight crossbred and purebred steer sections at the start of the Future Beef event, along with their crossbred grey steer being named reserve champion on the hoof then champion steer overall. Lauren and Tessa won the intermediate handler class and Tessa won the intermediate stock judging.
Their Kerrah Simmental Stud is based at the 2000ha Tangiwai Station north of Wairoa.
The three Knauf siblings were each given a heifer to break in and handle as well. Kerrah Design, sired by Kerrah Awesome, won the Allbreeds Allflex Champion Overall Heifer, and Kerrah Diamond sold for the top price of $5100.
The bull sale was steady at the 2016 Beef Expo in Fielding but bids were hard to come by, says PGG Wrightson New Zealand genetics manager and Beef Expo auctioneer, Bruce Orr says.
‘‘It was sticky from whoa to go,’’ he says.
‘‘That was the whole tone of the bull sales – the females and calves were better than the bulls really.
‘‘But I don’t expect that to continue to the on-farm sales.’’
The results tallied on the Beef Expo website showed the strength of the traditional hereford and angus breeds with 24 hereford bulls selling for an average of $8858 and 27 angus bulls selling for an average of $9037. Ten angus bulls reached five figures with three bulls selling for $16,000 each.
Nine hereford bulls reached five figure sums in the auction, including the top price, and another bull was passed in at $18,000.
The owners of the bull that sold for the $20,000 top price at the 2016 Beef Expo have only missed the event once since first entering in 1989.
Kairuru Lasso from Kevin and Jane McDonald’s Kairuru Hereford Stud at Reporoa in the Bay of Plenty was bought by Peter and Christine Reeves from the Mokairau Hereford Stud north of Gisborne for $20,000. Jane McDonald says the biggest highlight of their Beef Expo experiences is Kairuru Warratah winning the all breeds Champion of Champions title in 2003, the North Island champion and reserve New Zealand champion in NZ Hereford’s Super Sire programme in 2008 and champion herefords in 2011 and 2013.
The champion hereford bull this year was Monymusk Jock from the Te Anau stud of Chris and Jayne Douglas and their son Henry. He sold to Haldon Station for $12,000.
The champion angus bull was Tangihau K37 from Dean McHardy’s Gisborne stud, which sold to James and Fiona Fraser’s Stern Angus in South Canterbury for $11,000.
Eight shorthorn bulls sold for a $4837 average, four south devon bulls sold for a $5375 average and four simmental bulls sold for an average of $7375 although the breed’s champion bull, Ruaview Pinetree AC6 from John and Helen Hammond at Ohakune, sold to Glenside Farm Ltd for $14,000.