Stud females break records in April sales

April bull prices followed the broader cattle market and continued a steady decline to average $9,959, down 5.6% from March and down 14.3% from April last year. A total of 854 of 1,050 bulls were sold through 24 sales interfaced online, for a clearance rate of 81%.

Key points

• April bull prices eased 6% from March, 14% lower than the same period last year.

• Bull prices are expected to continue easing due to lower commercial cattle prices.

• Ladies’ time to shine with 295 stud heifers and cows selling for an average $6,768.

As the Autumn bull sales began to wind down in April, the female sales took off! A total of 295 of 382 stud females sold to an average of $6,768, for a clearance rate of 77%.

Amongst the highlights was a record Shorthorn price for Spry’s Miss Buddy M36 in the Spry’s Shorthorn and Angus bull sale on 26th April 2023. The rising seven-year-old donor was sold with a 14-week-old bull calf at foot for $95,000, the highest price for any Shorthorn bull, cow or heifer.

The second-highest price for a stud female sold in April was $60,000 for Circle 8 Rosebud T170 in the Circle 8 2023 Female Sale – Complete T drop on 27th April. Out of the 50 heifers offered, 44 sold to an average of $12,227 and 88% clearance rate, while 29 of those 44 were sold to online buyers.

Average monthly bull prices in the 2023 Autumn stud selling season have tracked lower than the historically high prices of 2022 (Figure 1). Lower commercial cattle prices, high input costs and rising interest rates are all contributing to tighter budgets when it comes to sale day.

Figure 1: Monthly bull prices on AuctionsPlus February - April.

Bull prices are expected to ease further leading into the Spring stud selling season. However, it is important to note that bull prices have held up relatively well with a 14% YOY decline compared to the 38% YOY decline in commercial young cattle prices. These annual price changes are expected to converge closer together over the rest of 2023.