National record prices, state record prices - you'd hardly know Australia's beef bull studs were selling amid plunging commercial cattle prices in 2023.
Subscribe now for unlimited access to all our agricultural news
across the nation
or signup to continue reading
While averages were down on 2022 levels, Australia's top bull studs performed strongly in a tough market.
It was a year where the national bull price was smashed, when a Texas Angus sire sold for $360,000 in July.
Glenlands Droughtmaster then set a breed record in September, with a bull fetching $320,000. Another Glenlands bull sold for $240,000 at the same sale.
Landfall Angus Tasmania rounded out the top three, with a bull selling for $240,000.
And these record sales came as the Eastern Young Cattle Indicator plunged 57 per cent from January to November, by which time most bull sales had been held.
In comparison, the average bull price of the top 50 studs in 2022 was $21,367. In 2023, the top 50 studs averaged $15,815. This was a drop of 26 per cent year on year.
Elders national livestock manager Peter Homann said it had been a "remarkable year" for the beef stud sector.
"The stud sector has been remarkably robust compared to the commercial world," Mr Homann said.
"We have had pretty good clearances. Apart from some of the lesser breeds, the rock-solid breeds have had a remarkable year."
Mr Homann said 2024 was going to be a "completely different year commercially and hence the stud sales will gain".
"Stud sales will rise again and the commercial world will take a substantial lift."
The Wagyu breed continued to produce outstanding results in 2023, albeit in numbers that do not meet our listing criteria.
South Australia's Mayura Wagyu averaged $48,556 for nine bulls, while Poll Wagyu sold 18 bulls for an average of $24,944.
Our top 50 stud list is based on reports by the Australian Community Media agriculture mastheads in 2023.
To be included in the listing, studs had to offer a minimum of 40 sires, and achieve a clearance rate of 80 per cent or more. Female sales were excluded from the results, as they appeared too infrequently.
Results quoted were for on-farm individual stud sales. Multi-vendor sales were not included in the listing.
The Top 10
Gloucester, in NSW's Mid North Coast region, has a strong claim to being the beef stud capital of Australia, with two of the top 10 beef bull studs calling the town home.
Australia's number one stud, Knowla Angus, ranked by average price at its on-property sale, is based at Gloucester, as is the 10th ranked stud, Curracabark Angus.
NSW was home to seven of the top 10 studs, while the Angus breed continued to dominate, accounting for seven of the top 10 studs.
Ultrablack, Droughtmaster and Shorthorns rounded out the top 10.
Six of the top 10 studs in 2023 were also ranked in the top 10 of 2022.
The average price across the 2023 top 10 studs was $20,605, a drop of $7496, or 27 per cent, on the 2022 top 10 average of $28,101.
This was considerably less than the 57 per cent drop in the EYCI.
However, this year's top average of $25,600 still would have ranked 7th on the 2022 list.
Of note, seven of the top 10 studs held their sales in the second half of the year, at a time when the EYCI plunge and heavy speculation of an El Nino were at their height. Yet they continued to record strong averages.
1. Knowla Livestock, Gloucester, NSW
Bull sale average $25,600
NSW stud Knowla Angus has taken the crown as Australia's best performing beef stud in 2023. In an extraordinary performance, the stud averaged $25,600 for the sale of 80 bulls on its on-property sale.
That average was just 3.5 per cent down on its 2022 average of $26,512, when it was ranked the 5th best performing stud.
To put that into context, Knowla's 2022 average price was a 53 per cent jump on the previous year.
The 2023 sale topped at $40,000, twice, with 46 two-year-old bulls averaging $26,173 and 34 yearling bulls averaging $24,823.
After last year battling wet conditions, the challenge this year was to get the bulls ready in a dry season.
"The Angus breed is an amazing breed; you can keep the carcase genetics, but you can still get them into the top end of the weight range," said Knowla stud co-principal Ted Laurie .
"That's a big tick for us for our bulls and our program; they've all done just on grass."
2. Millah Murrah Angus, Bathurst, NSW
Bull sale average $24,645
If you want high-end consistency, look no further than Millah Murrah Angus. After topping the national rankings last year, the stud backed up for a top-two performance in 2023.
While its 2023 average of $24,645 was well down on last year's $43,633, the 2022 result was an all-breeds world-wide record average - and a tough act to follow.
However, this year's top-priced bull fetched $200,000, well up on last year's $160,000 top price.
Another bull sold for $180,000 at this year's on-property sale.
Millah Murrah principal Ross Thompson said the two highest-price bulls were "phenotypically superb".
"I don't ever say this, but they were structurally flawless," Mr Thompson said.
The 2023 sale saw 54 18-month-old bulls average $24,277; 45 yearling bulls average $22,822, and; 22 two-year-old bulls average $29,272.
3. Milwillah Angus, Young, NSW
Bull sale average $23,566
Milwillah Angus is another picture of consistency - last year it ranked No. 2, this year it is No. 3.
The stud this year equaled last year's record top of $200,000, but in a familiar story, saw its average down, from $30,450 in 2022, to $23,566 this year.
However, that was not far off the 2021 average of $25,726, an indication of how exceptional 2022 was for the beef industry.
Points of note this year were that the first 20 bulls sold in the sale averaged $43,925, the second-highest price was $190,000 and 18 18-month-old bulls averaged $30,888.
4. Glenlands Droughtmaster, Bouldercombe, Queensland
Bull sale average $22,459
Glenlands Droughtmaster is a proven exceptional performer, moving up the ratings from No. 7 last year to No. 4 in 2023.
And it continued a trend with the top studs - a lower average price than 12 months previously, albeit less than 10 per cent down - but a significantly higher priced top bull.
Last year its top of $230,00 was a record for a Droughtmaster bull. In 2023, that was topped early in the sale when a sire sold for $240,000. But within minutes the bar was lifted even higher, when an overseas and local consortium paid a breed record $320,000 for the aptly named 21-month-old bull Glenlands D Everest.
That was the second highest price bull nationally in 2023.
Glenlands principal Darren Childs said despite the market downturn and drier conditions, they had hoped buyers would be willing to invest in quality genetics.
"When you sit down and actually go through the book and see the figures beside the bulls, I suppose it starts to sink in a little bit. It's pretty amazing," he said.
At 196 bulls, Glenlands was the biggest offering in our top 10.
5. Clunie Range Angus, Wallangra, NSW
Bull sale average $19,606
Another exceptionally consistent performer, Clunie Range Angus was last year ranked No. 6 nationally.
It moved up one place despite an average down 23 per cent from last year's $25,212. But that was acceptable when last year's sale was described as a "rip snorter".
The stud offered more bulls this year - 183 compared to 170 in 2022 - and its top of $65,000 was down on last year's $85,000, but well ahead of 2021's top of $40,000.
Of note was that 110 of the bulls sold in the 2023 sale headed north to Queensland.
According to stud principal Brett Guest: "Every stud has a different clientele. We have a clientele of really good cattlemen that come to us for the Clunie Range type. Deep, thick, wide and soft bulls."
6. Palgrove Ultrablack, Chinchilla, Queensland
Bull sale average $18,412
You'd be hard pressed to have a top 10 list of national bull studs and not find Palgrove in it.
Last year ranked No. 3, Palgrove this year sits at No. 6, a testament to its consistency.
It makes the top 10 this year for the sale of 57 Ultrablack bulls at its first Chinchilla sale, which averaged $18,412. Yet the 80 Charolais bulls sold for a $16,613 average actually ranked 14th nationally.
Throw in 11 Brangus bulls - which failed to make our offering cut - for an average $23,864, and you can see a stud that is offering what its customers want.
The 2023 sale saw the Ultrablacks reach $80,000 (a breed record), the Charloais top at $50,000, twice, and a Brangus bull hit $57,500.
7. Sprys Shorthorn, Wagga Wagga, NSW
Bull sale average $18,377
A well-known name in the beef industry, Sprys Shorthorns makes its debut in our top 10.
The stud's 2023 sale average of $18,377 for 45 bulls was not far off last year's $20,181, when 44 bulls sold.
However, the $70,000 top-priced bull was $10,000 up on the $60,000 top Shorthorn bull of 2022.
Notable at the sale was the record $95,000 paid for a Shorthorn cow.
At the sale, stud principal Gerald Spry said the result was a sign of confidence in Shorthorns.
"I think there is a very big future for the breed especially in crossbreeding programs and grass-fed markets."
8. Coonamble Angus, Bremer Bay, WA
Bull sale average $18,262
Western Australia's Coonamble Angus entered the national Top 10 ranking with a bang.
Not only did it leap from a ranking of 89 last year, it did so setting multiple records and outstripping its 2022 average price.
The stud's 2023 on-property sale marked the first time a bull had sold for six figures in Western Australia, topping at $106,000, while the $18,262 average was the highest at a single-vendor sale in the state. And on top of that its $2.3 million gross was the highest ever for a single vendor bull sale in WA.
Coonamble was also one of the few bull studs to surpass its 2022 average price, up 25 per cent on last year's $14,550 average.
The second highest priced bull at the sale was $72,000.
9. Dulverton Angus, Shannon Vale, NSW
Bull sale average $17,666
Another new entry into the top 10, Dulverton Angus achieved the honour with its final on-property bull sale.
With future sales to be conducted on-line only, the stud made its final physical sale count, with a total clearance of 63 bulls and a top of $50,000.
The stud's sale averaged $17,666 for a full clearance of 63 bulls.
The average was down on last year's $20,270, which was in line with industry trends in 2023.
10. Curracabark Angus, Gloucester, NSW
Bull sale average $17,460
Another new top 10 entry rounds out our list, with Curracabark Angus averaging $17,460 for 41 Angus bulls sold at its annual sale.
That wasn't far off its 2022 average of $18,214, when it sold 28 Angus bulls.
Stud principal Sandy Higgins said that Curracabark had taken "a slight change in direction", providing more figures for clients to reinforce their policies of breeding cattle with length, growth, yield and increased intramuscular fat data.
The top-priced Angus bull fetched $26,000, while 24 Hereford bulls averaged $9958 and topped at $28,000.
