‘Super Sunday’ / 2018 Fleckvieh Equation Sale Report

A gorgeous mid-December day with mild temperatures and sunny skies created ideal weather for Transcon’s ‘Super Sunday’ on Sunday, December 16^th.  This ‘Three in One’ Simmental Event featured the Red & Black / Fleckvieh Equation and SIBL Half the Herd Extravaganza. With the addition of the ‘half the herd’ event, there were an impressive 110 lots to sell, which averaged a robust $5,489.

In a shift from previous year’s sales, it was a string of really impressive red and black Simmentals that led off the sale – headlined with two impressive bred heifers from the renowned Skor program.  Lots 152 and 153 were very consistent in type, and it showed, as the gavel fell within $500 of each other.  Lot 152 brought $11,000 to Leewood Ranch, Manville, AB and Lot 153 is travelling to Manitoba has she sold for $11,500 to Dana & Megan Johns of Kenton.  The lead-off group of 7 breds was very strong and showcased the diversity of the consignors, with 5 consignors combining to average $9,000+.

The bull sale portion of Sunday’s sale continues to draw a lot of interest; with the most diverse offering of purebred and Fleckvieh Bulls on hand in 2018.  The high-selling bull was from the up and coming Red Top program, who presented ‘Red Top Fireball’ which sold for $15,500 to OK Farms. On the Fleckvieh side, three really expressive bulls from Starwest Farms showcased the diversity of their program.  New consigners, Brooks Simmentals from Turtleford, SK, had the high selling Fleck, with Lot 5 ‘Brooks Flex 53F’ selling for $9,500 to Janjie Inc, Lake Alma, SK. Based on the results, ‘Super Sunday’ continues to be a place astute cattlemen turn to evaluate breeder quality bulls.

Our lot 23 heifer, Applecross Hannah was selected to lead off the Fleckvieh portion of the Sale.  She was selected by Clearwater Simmentals / Chad & Shelley Smith of Olds, AB for $10,250.  Applecross Abigail ($3,250) will be changing provinces after being selected by Section 17 Livestock, the Rathegerber’s, at Mellville, SK. We are quite excited that Applecross Chelsea will be making her new home not too far from us in Didsbury – she was selected by Skywest Simmentals / Jolene & Riley Edwards for $5,750.  Applecross Blossom ($7,250) has already ‘bloomed’ for her new owners – Rich-Mc Simmentals / Myla & Jason Richards in Pilot Mound, MB. She arrived at her new home on Monday the 17^th and delivered a set of twin heifers on December 23^rd! Talk about an early Christmas gift!  We were quite pleased with how our four bred heifers represented our program – and look forward to hearing how the other three calve out in early January.

In addition to the above noted high-sellers, I thought we would share some additional thoughts on the 2018 Edition of Fleckvieh Equation:

• The Wolfe Fleckvieh string never disappoints. Their three bred heifers on offer this year were all extremely well received.  We have been very happy with our purchase of Wolfe’s Dawn from last year’s sale, and the consistency of cattle that Shane & Shannon bring to Equation every year is truly remarkable.
• The other program of note would be the continued evolution of Keet Simmentals / Brett & Naomi Keet. Brett has been firmly focused on polled Fleckvieh for the past number of years, and his dedication to this segment of the industry has really paid off with a diverse set of females on offer.
• As Fleckvieh Equation / Red and Black is a consignment sale, every year brings a few new consignors to the group. Maybe it was the SIBL half the herd event, or the increasing number of breeders presenting both Flecks and purebreds, but there seemed to be a greater mingling of breeders, buyers and people throughout the barn than in previous years.  This was especially notable on Social Saturday night, and I think it is important to see this continue to evolve.  Simmental is the most diverse beef breed in the world, and it is important this is recognized as a strength and not as a competition.  It was great to see lots of visiting; helping hands with gates; in the wash rack and sharing tack through-out the weekend.
• Overall, sale numbers increased year over year from 70 lots to 110. The significant increase, combined with a severe feed shortage in Central Alberta, resulted in significantly different market conditions in 2018.
• That being said – quality cattle still sold. Across the three sales on ‘Super Sunday’ there were 10 head that averaged more than $10,000 vs. 16 in 2017

We would be remiss not to recognize the team at Transcon for doing a tremendous job working the phones and managing the sale – they are always a quality, professional sales management team.   Jay, Darren, Glen and Cody spent the weekend inspecting the cattle while consistently talking on their phones, making evaluations for prospective buyers. Over $115,000 was sold on order!

It was another great day to present Applecross cattle at auction, and we are honoured by the compliments we received on our cattle from all the bidders and buyers that took interest in our program.  With the first calves of the new calving season on the ground, we look forward to the balance of calving season, and another step in that ongoing effort to produce high-quality genetics that we can share with the industry.