Name: Trump advisor buys one-year-old Angus bull for $2.1m at auction, smashing previous record sale - ABC News
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Trump advisor buys one-year-old Angus bull for $2.1m at auction, smashing previous record sale - ABC News

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Trump advisor buys one-year-old Angus bull for $2.1m at auction, smashing previous record saleShareThe chairman of Donald Trump's Agriculture and Rural Advisory Committee has paid $A2.14 million for a one-year-old Angus bull at auction in North Dakota.Charles W. Herbster, a Republican donor and businessman, is also a respected cattle producer and owner of Herbster Angus Farms in Falls City, Nebraska.His was the successful bid on 'SAV America 8018' at the Schaff Angus Valley production sale held on its ranch outside Saint Anthony.Will Bollum, a field editor for livestock publication Western Ag Reporter, was ringside to witness the moment in history."The atmosphere was going crazy, you could feel the excitement in the air, even the auctioneer said it. He's never had to say numbers that are that high," Mr Bollum said."So it was new for everybody, and it just a very unique experience, exciting for the buyer and the contending bidder all the way up to the $US1 million ($A1.4 million), $US1.5 million ($A2.1 million) mark.""It was just a crazy, electric event to see."America will remain at Schaff Angus Valley, which has retained a 20 per cent semen share as part of the sale.Mr Bollum said there was no expectation that the animal would sell for that much."There was some speculation that he might go for $US1 million ($A1.4 million)," he said."The previous world record was $US800,000 ($A1.1 million) [for SAV Elation] which was last year at this sale."So $US1.51 million ($A2.14 million) was pretty crazy and unexpected."Mr Herbster said he was prepared to buy America no matter what the cost."I had determined about three days before the sale that I was going to buy the bull regardless," he said.In 2017 Herbster Angus Farms bid the top price of $750,000 USD at the Schaff Angus Valley production sale for America's sire President.But two years later Mr Herbster never expected that the bidding for the favourite bull of the sale would reach as high as $1.51m USD."When we got past $1.1m, I got this knot in my stomach because I thought the bull will bring around $1m," he said."But outside the knot in my stomach the electricity and the excitement and the gasps were probably something I'd never experienced before, it was like people were frozen."The winning bid only represents an 80 per cent semen share, so the true value of America, based on the auction sale, is $2.67m AUD.Mr Herbster doesn't believe there will ever be another bull like him because his dam SAV Madame Pride 0075 died last year."This was the remaining embryo, there's no brother, there's no sister, there's no way to duplicate the bull," he said."People who looked at the bull, whether they're interested in carcase or performance or phenotype, it doesn't make any difference, every person loves the look of that bull, and they're excited about being able to use that bull sometime here in the near future."Mr Bollum said America's pedigree was full of record-setting, high-dollar animals."His weaning weight is 1,107 pounds, so that is the highest on record for the American Angus Association — so that is extremely unheard of," he said."It means his cow [SAV Madame Pride] is extremely productive."He was raised in an ideal situation and environment and she's a very good milking cow."He's just an awesome individual, a freak of nature, you know, one of those bulls where there isn't anything you want to change on them at all."In total 615 animals — 414 bulls selling at an average of $22,269 AUD and 201 females at $14,186 AUD — were sold at the Schaff Angus Valley production sale, grossing a total of $12 million.The record price paid for an Angus bull in Australia was set in 2015 at $150,000, but the most expensive Australian bull ever at $325,000 belongs to the Brahman breed.Next week Mr Herbster will travel back to North Dakota to personally pick up his new bull from Schaff Angus Valley.America will be transported to Mr Herbster's bull stud, North American Breeders Inc., in Berryville Virginia after two days' rest in Nebraska.Then the facility will start collecting semen from America to sell to breeders across the USA, and around the world, including Australia."We've probably had about 20 calls worldwide, and we've had four calls from Australia," Mr Herbster said.Herbster Angus Farms has been exporting bull semen to Australia, including from America's sire President, since 2015.Mr Herbster said that semen collected from America will be sold at double the price of his other bull semen."He'll be in my own private bull stud for the next year in the collection process, and then there will be a time, once we get the bull collected, that we'll take him back to North Dakota and let him breed cows during the summer time," he said."That's a program that I have with Kelly (Schaff) that works really, really well."I usually take my bulls back to North Dakota in the middle of May, and then the 1st of September they go back to the stud."It gives them a break, they don't get lethargic, they don't get overweight, and they produce much, much higher quality semen if they can spend some time living the life that they were actually born to live."11 Feb 201911 Feb 2019Mon 11 Feb 2019 at 8:35am, 12 Feb 201912 Feb 2019Tue 12 Feb 2019 at 1:01amMore on:

Trump advisor buys one-year-old Angus bull for $2.1m at auction, smashing previous record saleShareThe chairman of Donald Trump's Agriculture and Rural Advisory Committee has paid $A2.14 million for a one-year-old Angus bull at auction in North Dakota.Charles W. Herbster, a Republican donor and businessman, is also a respected cattle producer and owner of Herbster Angus Farms in Falls City, Nebraska.His was the successful bid on 'SAV America 8018' at the Schaff Angus Valley production sale held on its ranch outside Saint Anthony.Will Bollum, a field editor for livestock publication Western...

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Trump advisor buys one-year-old Angus bull for $2.1m at auction, smashing previous record sale - ABC News

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