Santa Gertrudis cattle out-cleared the wider AuctionsPlus offering in 11 of the past 12 months to June 2026, averaging 89% clearance against 81% for all cattle.
For vendors and buyers alike, the numbers tell a clear story: Santa Gertrudis cattle are in demand, and the online channel is playing an increasingly central role in how they change hands.
Month on month, Santa Gertrudis out-cleared the wider AuctionsPlus cattle offering in 11 of the past 12 months. The breed ran at, or close to, 90-100% clearance through the spring selling months of 2025, including on average holding a 15 percentage-point buffer over the all-cattle average through Q2 of the FY - including a perfect 100% clearance in October. Even through the traditionally quieter mid-summer window in January 2026, when clearance across the whole online market fell away into the 60s and 70s on the back of seasonal buyer caution, Santa Gertrudis still cleared better than the field, and the breed rebounded hard from February onward. By May and June 2026 clearance was back into the mid-90s, well clear of the 89% Santa Gertrudis FY average and the 81% all-cattle FY average.
Figure 1: Santa Gertrudis vs the rest of the cattle offering - monthly clearance rate, July 2025-June 2026. Source: AuctionsPlus
The consistency is the real headline. A breed that rarely dips below the low-70s, even in its softest month, and that spends most of the year printing clearance rates in the 90s and above, gives vendors real confidence that a well-presented line of Santa Gertrudis cattle will sell - and gives buyers confidence that competition for quality lines will stay firm.
Santa Gertrudis steer values have mirrored, and at times outpaced, the broader recovery in Australian cattle prices this year. The current-year average price per head opened 2026 well above both the five- and 10-year averages, climbing from around $1,670 in January to a peak near $1,780 in February - a period when the previous year’s equivalent prices were still down near $1,220-$1,330. Prices eased back through autumn to sit closer to the five-year average band through March, April and May, before lifting sharply again into June, back above $1,700.
That pattern lines up with what is happening across the industry more broadly. The Eastern Young Cattle Indicator has pushed through 1,000c/kg for the first time in around four years, supported by tightening national supply as the herd rebuild continues, strong restocker competition and firm export demand. Santa Gertrudis, as a breed well suited to northern and tropical production systems, is well placed to capture that strength - and the AuctionsPlus data suggests it has done exactly that.
Figure 2: Santa Gertrudis average steer price per head - current year vs previous year, five-year and 10-year averages Source: AuctionsPlus
One of the clearest benefits of selling Santa Gertrudis cattle through AuctionsPlus is the breadth of buyer competition it brings to every listing. Listing locations are concentrated through central and southern Queensland and into northern New South Wales - the Santa Gertrudis heartland - but buying interest is drawn from right across the eastern seaboard, from Far North Queensland down through New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, plus competition out of South Australia.
Figure 3a: Listing locations.
Figure 3b: Buying locations.
That national spread of buyers is a genuine point of difference for vendors. Rather than relying on whoever is in the saleyard on the day, an online listing puts every Santa Gertrudis breeder and commercial buyer in the country - and the depth of competition that comes with them - in front of every line offered.
With the national cattle market at multi-year highs and the herd still rebuilding, demand for quality breeding and trade cattle should stay firm through the back half of 2026. Santa Gertrudis enters that period with clearance rates and prices both running ahead of the wider market - a strong platform for vendors bringing cattle to sale in the months ahead.