An auction of Angus bulls including Puketoi 4554 begins the sale season in the South tomorrow. Shawn McAvinue talks to vendor Kyle Hagen and Stu Duncan about their respective Angus bull sales on the Maniototo on consecutive days this week. Maniototo bull breeder Stu Duncan is buoyant about the leadup to his sale. "The preseason hype feels good." Penvose Angus will hold its 40th annual bull sale on-farm in White Sow Valley near Wedderburn on Friday. The Duncan family will offer about 40 rising 2-year-old Angus bulls. Market signals were for demand for bulls to be strong this season, such as record prices for weaner calves at autumn sales. A booming beef market had Maniototo farmers running more cows, so more bulls would be needed at mating. Another trend was more farmers running more beef cattle in their farm systems to reduce worm-burden in their sheep flock. Beef cattle numbers on Maniototo farms were returning to levels similar to when Mr Duncan started farming decades ago.…