Don and Leslie Richardson hosted their second online and 37th annual sale of Tlell bulls on March 3-4.
The online auction saw 20 buyers sign in to bid on 14 Richardson Ranch bulls.
The highest selling two-year-old bull was Tlell 504C Gene Seeker 3J bought by Telkwa’s Kerr Cattle Co. Ltd. for $7,500. The highest selling yearling bulls included Tlell 4013 Kinetic 12J bought by Fenton Hereford Ranch in Irma, Alta. for $6,500, Tlell 4013 Kona 11K bought by Pemberton’s Kuurne Farms for $5,750 and Tlell 4013 Kenworth 26K bought by Russell McLarry of Burns Lake.
A total of 13 bulls were bought during the online sale, which grossed $61,800. The remaining bull was sold shortly after the completion of the online sale.
In the past, the Richardsons have sold cattle in Vanderhoof and Williams Lake but the online format has its advantages from their remote base off the northwest coast.
“We don’t leave home unless they’re sold. Most cases with electronics today, they’re actually paid for before we leave the island,” he says.
Hosting both online and private sales allows Richardson to publish and distribute a customized sale catalogue chock-full of data on the cattle, including maternal productivity index, feedlot merit index and calving ease.
The top traits Richardson breeds for are calving ease and maternal productivity.
The next step for Richardson is to breed bulls that have big ribeyes and marbling.
“Those two things actually go against each other. It’s hard to find animals that have both. They are there, you just have to identify them,” Richardson says. “It’s not just about making baby calves; at the end of the day, we’re responsible for the meat that’s in the meat department, and it’s important to make it as best as possible.”
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