By Tom Collins
CORBYVILLE — It took only days for Andy Vos of Vos Vegas Farms to make back his money on a share of a Black Angus bull he bought at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair last November.
The Corbyville beef breeder, north of Belleville, paid $10,000 to own one-third of PM Thunderstruck 22’13. By the time the Royal ended, a bidding war caused a fourth share to sell for US $30,000.
“I made it back before he left the Royal. It was the best investment I’ve ever made.”
Vos, who called the two-year-old bull one of the top 10 bulls in Canadian history, recalled deciding to buy a piece of the bull before it went into the ring.
The two-year-old was named supreme bull for all breeds at the Royal, and was named grand champion at Expo Bouef in Quebec in October, the North American Livestock Show in Kentucky in November, and the National Western Stock Show in Denver in January. Thunderstruck was also named the 2015 show bull of the year by the Canadian Angus Association.
Thunderstruck’s semen is already in high demand, with 50 packages being sold at $5,000 for 50 straws. Sales have already surpassed $100,000.
“He’ll go well over the half a million dollar range,” said Vos. “He’ll put that thickness in his calves. That’s the big thing. Once his calves get out there, I think he’ll be in that much more of a demand. That’s usually the proof in the pudding. You can say it all you want that his look is great, but once those calves look consistent, that’s the big thing.”
Thunderstruck was bred by Tanya Belsham of British Columbia and sold for $15,000 in March 2014 to JD Farms and Ryan Currie of Quebec, which might have been a record for the highest-selling Black Angus bull at a British Columbia auction. Thunderstruck is now owned by Vos, Currie, Belsham and Nebraska farmer Jason Hoffman.
“He’s something special,” said Vos. “He’s a moderate-frame bull, but he’s thick, well-balanced and sure-footed. He’s pretty well got it all. Maybe last year some people might not have given him a second look (as a calf), but he sure got them looking this year.”
