Lynn Woods’ single entry in the 105th Regina Bull Sale was all he needed to make a big impact.
The two-year-old animal was named grand champion Hereford and topped the sale at $8,250.
Tom Warnyca of Warnyca Land and Cattle Co. at Montmartre, Sask., bought him after intense bidding hushed the crowd.
Greg Freitag of Old Burchill Farms at Alameda, Sask., had leased the bull as a yearling and wanted to make him a permanent part of his breeding program.
He had to take another home instead.
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Woods, a dentist from Minot, North Dakota, who is originally from Oxbow, Sask., credited Freitag for looking after the bull and getting him ready for the sale.
The price almost equals what Woods paid for the bull’s mother.
“I bought the high selling cow at (Canadian Western) Agribition in 2007,” Woods said. “This is the calf she was carrying.”
He paid about $9,200 for the cow.
“I’m almost even,” he laughed. “Greg hasn’t submitted his bill yet.”
Warnyca said he will use the bull on a handful of purebreds but mainly on Angus-cross cows to breed more Hereford influence. That includes fleshing ability, disposition and soundness.
“The most complete thing about him is his absence of faults,” he said, brandishing the 2007 sale catalogue featuring his mother.
“He’s got a good foot, a good reproductive tract. He bred as a yearling. He’s got strength in his head.
“He’s got to be really good if I’m going to play with him.”
Warnyca is a long-time purebred Hereford breeder who sold most of his cattle in 2000 but retained semen and embryos.
He said you can never pay too much for a good bull.
Woods, who lived in Estevan, Sask., during the 1970s and 1980s and had Charolais cattle, got into Herefords because his father-in-law breeds them south of Mandan, N.D.
This year, Lazy J Herefords will have about 20 calves. Woods said he had a chance to purchase part of the original family farm a few years ago and he intends to retire in Canada.
The overall sale average was down slightly from last year. A total of 146 Red Angus, Simmental, Charolais, Hereford, Limousin and Angus bulls sold for $429,750 to average $2,943. That compares to the 2009 average of $3,121 on 145 lots.
A sale highlight was the purchase of six Charolais bulls from Elder Charolais Farm at Coronach, Sask., by George Bolin of Cecil Lake, B.C.
Bolin had never attended the Regina Bull Sale before but spent $22,850 to make his mark.
“I did get carried away, which I will hear about when I get home,” he said.
He and his wife, Linda, run about 300 cows at their ranch in the Peace River region. About half are purebred and the rest are commercial.
Bolin said he had heard the Elders produced good bulls and needed several because he didn’t buy any last year. He tried to bid by telephone during the 2009 sale but missed the bull he wanted because of the time change.
As a result, he said he pushed his existing bulls too hard and renewal this year was key.
Bolin, who said the prices in Regina were reasonable and the quality good, planned to return in future.
