COCHRANE, Alta. – One of the first major events of the bull sale season has provided a sense of optimism in a year of unpredictability.
Sandwiched between the fall’s major livestock shows and Christmas, Hamilton Angus’s eighth annual bull and select female sale in Cochrane on Dec. 14 offered something for everyone who came to buy a black yearling bull.
Cows were still grazing on pasture on sale day because of the lack of snow, and the outdoor temperature was 10 C. With the sale over, the cows will return home so the Hamiltons can prepare for January calving.
Read Also
Calf hormone implants can give environmental, financial wins
Hormone implants can lead to bigger calves — reducing greenhouse gas intensity, land use intensity and giving the beef farmer more profit, Manitoba-based model suggests.
Bidders arrived at the ranch from across Western Canada and the United States to buy some of the elite genetic packages put together by the Hamiltons and their sale partner, Harold Reich of Bashaw.
“We’ve had a good run at the shows and a steady sale,” Gail Hamilton said after the sale, which averaged $3,720 on 90 bulls.
T Douglas Lake Ranch of British Columbia was the volume buyer at 12 bulls. The largest ranch in Canada, it has been a repeat buyer for a number of years.
A son of Riverbend Powerline, the Hamiltons’ Canadian Western Agribition supreme champion, was the sale’s top-selling bull. Russell Sibbald of U2 Ranch of Cochrane bought the January 2002 calf for $9,000.
Another volume buyer was Northfolk Ranch of Montana, which successfully bid on five bulls. This ranch has been buying Hamilton bulls for 15 years.
A group of 12 select heifers was also offered for an average price of $4,625.
The top-selling female was sold for $11,000 to Sandra Kesteven of Calgary, a repeat buyer. It was also an offspring of Riverbend Powerline, as were all of the other high-selling animals at the sale.
The supreme champion will be on display at the National Western Stock Show at Denver, Colorado, in mid-January. Owned in partnership with three others, Powerline retires to the Hamiltons’ ranch after the Denver show.
