Manawahe farmers Peter and Penny Davies are well known for their top-quality Hereford bulls, with the Charwell Hereford annual bull sale a staple event for both the beef and dairy industries across the North Island.

The Davies farm has been producing and selling bulls for decades, after Peter’s grandfather began breeding them on Kaikura Coast with just five cows back in 1919.

“I slowly shifted the herd from the South Island back to here in Manawahe, and we have been rearing and selling bulls here ever since,” said Davies.

Today, the property runs 300 cows over 800 hectares. The tough economic climate has had little impact on the Davies’ business.

“As the sheep industry sees tougher times, where the meat holds value, but wool doesn’t, it seems to strengthen the beef sector. I have witnessed an increase in demand and better pricing,” said Davies.

This year’s bull sale was deemed a success with the average sale price for two-year-old old bull $4796, 18-month- old bulls at $4054 and the one-year-old bulls at $2530 with both Davies and the stock agents happy with the overall result.

“We sold everything, with nothing passing over, so I would say we did OK.

“On average, the pricing was good, but the biggest two-year-old bulls didn’t get the price I was hoping for.

Wrightson’s regional livestock manager Simon Rouse sat beside auctioneer Bruce Orr as the bulls went under the hammer and has only missed one Davies auction in the past 26 years.

“The stock that went under the hammer was some of the best I have seen, and clearly the buyers appreciated that.

“The beef market has seen an increasing level of confidence over the past 12 months, and that looks set to continue.

“The bottom line is everything that went under the hammer sold, and you can’t ask for more than that,” said Rouse.

The bulls will be shipped throughout the North Island, with most destined to improve dairy breeding stock in Gisborne, Taranaki and the Waikato.

While the majority of bidders were looking for breeding bulls, four buyers had beef production as their primary focus.