As confidence appears to be growing within the stud bull market, we reflect on the top-priced bulls so far for this year's spring stud sales interfaced with AuctionsPlus.
DUNOON T1361 (lot 30), purchased for $225,000 by Gilmandyke Pastoral, Orange, NSW, retains the top spot after another month of successful sales, with MILLAH MURRAH RAMJET U356 coming in at second place - purchased for $140,000 by Shepwok Angus, Gibson, WA.
The 2024 spring stud selling season continues its strong form, with AuctionsPlus Business Development Manager Hugh Courts saying it was pleasing to see confidence not just hold but also grow throughout the month of September.
"Last year the further we got into spring the confidence dropped off," Mr Courts recalled.
"This year we're seeing it pick up at the back end of spring.
"Clearance is remaining really strong and averages are lifting.
"It's a good sign of where the market will go and shows commercial producers are confident to outlay that money."
Check out the top seven priced bulls so far, interfaced with AuctionsPlus, since July 1, 2024.
The ‘Dunoon Angus Spring Bull Sale’ held in Holbrook, NSW, has retained the lead for the highest grossing bull interfaced through AuctionsPlus this Spring stud selling season.
The six-figure young sire DUNOON T1361 (lot 30) was purchased for $225,000 by Gilmandyke Pastoral, Orange, NSW.
The bull nicknamed ‘Bob’, was described as “very quiet, a strong spine, great body width, a lovely frontend and a great outlook”. The bull, born in September 2022, weighed in at 808kg on August 26, 2024.
‘Bob’ the top grossing bull, has been purchased for $100,000 more than the 2023 ‘Dunoon Angus Spring Bull Sale’ top sale, where DUNOON S603 was purchased for $125,000.
Dunoon's 2024 Spring sale achieved an auction average of $14,432, with eight lots secured to online bidders.
The sale was conducted by Elders Albury with auctioneers Lincoln McKinlay and Ryan Badjada taking the bids.
It was another successful day out at the ‘Millah Murrah 2024 Angus Bull Sale’ where the Thompson family achieved stunning sale averages across a line of highly-sort after genetics.
Based out of Bathurst, NSW, the stud sold all 123 bulls to a top of $140,000, attaining an average of $27,227.
In the breakdown, 33 yearling bulls sold to $140,000, averaging $32,727. The 18-month-old offerings sold to $70,000 to average $25,453, and 15 two-year-olds sold to $70,000, averaging $24,000.
The top-priced bull was the yearling, MILLAH MURRAH RAMJET U356 purchased for $140,000 by return buyers Shepwok Angus, Gibson, WA.
The stud’s catalogue said the young bull “does everything right” and had a “beautiful phenotype and skeletal structure” and his genes carried fantastic maternal heritage.
Pointing to his ability to produce fast growing calves, Ramjet’s Estimated Breeding Values rank him as +3.3 for birth weight but a whopping +122 for 600-day growth.
The sale attracted people from across the nation with bulls being sold to five states. However, it was the online activity driven by keen bidders through the AuctionsPlus platform who drew an electric presence to the buying field.
AuctionsPlus’ Business Development Manager Hugh Courts attended the sale, placing bids on behalf of the platform’s online bidders.
“Millah Murrah was a tremendous sale to attend for the first time. The outstanding line up of bulls was highlighted by how even they were as well as the sound structural phenotype," Mr Courts said.
“Online buyers could bid with confidence knowing the work that has gone in to breeding these spectacular bulls."
In safe hands with Mr Courts and seasoned Market Operator’s Millie George and Abby Naumann back at AuctionsPlus Headquarters in Sydney, bidders on the platform secured nine of the hotly-contested bulls with a total of 181 bids being placed online across 73 lots.
MILLAH MURRAH RAMJET U356 has joined the leaderboard of the top-priced lot interfaced through AuctionsPlus this spring stud selling season. Dunoon Angus’ ‘Bob’ will continue its reign in top position following its purchase for $225,000 last week.
Cascade’s Poll Hereford’s prevail with top of $110,000
Quality Poll Hereford genetics prevailed at the Cascade Poll Hereford and Angus Stud with CASCADE TOSCA T042 selling for $110,000 at the ‘Cascade Poll Hereford and Angus Annual Bull Sale’, held out at “Koomoorang”, Currabubula, NSW.
The young sire was secured by Nutrien Ag Solutions' Peter Godbolt, Albury, who bid on behalf of Glendan Park. The six-figure purchase priced more than doubled the Cascade Stud’s previous top price record of $52,000 set in 2022.
TOSCA T042 weighed 948kg and was the second-heaviest bull in the catalogue. It was calved on July 14, 2022, and had an eye muscle area (EMA) of 129 square centimetres, intramuscular fat (IMF) percentage of 6.5% and a scrotal circumference of 43cm.
Overall, the sale averaged $11,257, with a complete clearance of 31 Poll Hereford bulls. In the two-year-old section of the catalogue, the average was $13,407, while the yearling bulls topped at $10,000, averaging $7,750.
In the Angus catalogue, 35 of 40 bulls sold to $18,000 for the two-year-old bulls, which averaged $10,640, while a yearling Angus bull topped at $20,000, with an average of $8400.
The selling agents were Davidson Cameron and Company with Paul Dooley as auctioneer.
The ‘Weebollabolla 57th Annual Bull Sale’ more than doubled its previous stud record of $47,500 set in 2023.
The Weebollabolla Shorthorn stud, based in Moree, NSW, has celebrated its 151-year tenure in the Shorthorn breed, smashing its previous stud record by $57,500.
The red and white Shorthorn bull WEEBOLLABOLLA TINKLER T109 topped the sale at $105,000, a season record for Shorthorn’s interfaced through AuctionsPlus this spring.
The homozygous polled bull described as “always a standout” has been praised for its “depth, length, an excellent temperament and quality numbers to back him up. The first son for his dam Words P197.”
The sale averaged $11,417 and achieved 91% clearance.
The spirited online action secured five lots to AuctionsPlus on behalf of online buyers. The top price online was $21,000 with WEEBOLLABOLLA THEO T50 (Lot 20) sold to a buyer in Longreach.
To Walcha NSW, where a yearling sire achieved a stud record at the ‘Ben Nevis Angus bull sale’, taking out the auction’s top sale price of $100,000.
The sale topper, BEN NEVIS ULTRA U223 (Lot 32), weighed 642 kilograms at 14 months, and was sold to Boambee Angus at East Seaham.
The sale achieved full clearance across the 83 lots on offer, with one passed-in bull finding a buyer before sale's end. Overall, the sale achieved an average of $15,590.
Of the 18-month-old bulls, 41 lots, the top price was $56,000 to average $16,390 while the 42 yearling sires averaged $14,809.
The spirited onsite was challenged by the presence of AuctionsPlus’ online activity. AuctionsPlus secured the opening lot, with BEN NEVIS UNDERTAKER U063 (Lot 1) sold for $56,000 to an online buyer. In total, 16 bulls were purchased by online buyers across the auction offerings.
The ‘Gilmandyke Angus Bull & Production Sale’ was a standout of the week, almost doubling its previous highest price. The auction’s top priced bull GILMANDYKE VERSATILE U176 (Lot 21), sold for $100,000 to Corio Ag, Cootamundra, NSW. The stud's previous highest price was $55,000.
The lot for the young sire opened at $20,000, where bids escalated quickly before the bull sold for $100,000. The 18-month-old weighed 672 kg and recorded estimated breeding values in the top 2% for intramuscular fat with +5.9, the top 1% for docility.
VERSATILE U176 in its description was called "an exciting young bull, he is the first Versatile son to sell in this sale draft, and to say we're happy with how they perform would be an understatement".
Bowyer and Livermore conducted the sale with Nick Fogarty as the auctioneer.
VERSATILE U176 sits alongside Texas Angus’ TEXAS TNT T317, which also sold for $100,000, as the equal-third highest grossing bulls, interfaced through AuctionsPlus this Spring stud selling season.
Texas Angus continued its run of producing six-figure bulls with an impressive line-up of genetics on offer at the ‘Texas Angus 56th Bull & Commercial Female Sale’.
TEXAS TNT T317, a two-year-old bull, topped the sale at $100,000, purchased by the Eungy Pastoral Company at Blackall, Queensland.
The sale held in Warialda NSW, had a line of 272 bulls on offer, which were sold for an average of $14,376 for the Mayne family.
This year’s six-figure bull, Texas TNT, was described as “absolute power, presence and performance”.
The bull had an impressive set of Breedplan figures, including +147 for 600-day growth, which ranked the bull in the top 7% of the breed for this trait, and +89 for carcass weight, which was the top 6% cent for Angus bulls of that age.
Texas TNT weighed 992kg for an average daily weight gain of 1.31kg, and had a frame score of 6.1, a scrotal circumference of 41cm and a birthweight figure of +5.
GDL, Dalby, and BJA Inverell were the selling agents, and Wayne York, Mark Duthie, and Josh Heck were the auctioneers.
