A $44,000 top was a highlight in a tricky sale for whiteface bulls

Bulls sold to $44,000 at the Herefords Australia national show and sale, but what happened behind the headline grabber? We reveal the results.

Hereford bulls sold to $44,000 at the breed’s national show and sale at Wodonga on Thursday in a market affected by tough seasonal conditions across southeastern Australia.

In a sign vendors knew what was coming, 24 bulls were withdrawn from the sale before it even started.

And of the 108 remaining, 37 were passed in for a clearance of 66 per cent, with agents announcing the sale average as $9859.

There were 30 bulls that sold for the upset price of $6000 and just eight bulls made more than $15,000.

This compares to 91 bulls selling for an average of $11,406 at a 75 per cent clearance in 2024.

But many vendors were relieved that the majority of bulls sold, with some fearing the outcome could have been much worse.

Herefords Australia chairman Marc Greening said the sale had gone well given the circumstances.

“I know Herefords Australia, the agents and the vendors were a little bit apprehensive on how the sale was going to go given the current environment with the season in southern Australia,” Mr Greening said.

“To obtain the clearance we did, and the average, is really great.

“There was not an extreme top and no large bulk orders and bulls seemed to spread all over the countryside.”

He said the national show and sale catered for smaller members trying to progress their studs, and the sale provided a great outlet.

One of those was Caleb Croker from Talumbi Herefords at Goulburn, NSW, who has a herd of just 30 cows but sold two bulls, including one for $26,000 to the Merewah Poll Hereford stud at Boggabilla, NSW.

Caleb Croker from Talumbi Poll Herefords at Goulburn, NSW, with the senior champion bull at the Herefords Australia national show and sale at Wodonga, which went on to sell for $26,000 to fellow stud breeders Merewah Poll Herefords at Boggabilla, NSW. The bull had earlier in the year won the supreme Hereford exhibit at the Royal Easter Show at Sydney, NSW.

The bull was the supreme champion exhibit at the Sydney Royal, and was the senior champion bull at the Wodonga event.

It had figures in the top 1 per cent of the breed for carcass weight, and top 2 per cent for eye muscle area with a figure of +7.9sq cm. The bull, Talumbi Undisputed, was two years old.

Mr Croker said he started his stud at age 15, in 2016, and had been working hard on quality despite the small numbers.

“We are always looking to improve and it’s important to sell your best bulls,” Mr Croker said.

“We like to think we will see this bull’s progeny and it’s impact across the beef herd and it will be rewarding to see his genetics go on and do a good job.

“It makes it a bit easier to tie the bull up after the sale and walk away.”

The sale’s top price of $44,000 was paid by Queenslander Steve Reid from Talbalba Herefords at Millmerran for Glendan Park Uproar U212, a rising two-year-old bull which had figures in the top 10 per cent of the breed for rib and rump fat and carcass weight and a birth weight of +5.2.

The top price bull which made $44,000 at the Herefords Australia national show and sale at Wodonga.

Mr Reid said he liked the depth and softness of the bull, sold by the Trovatello family, Glendan Park, Kyneton, with softness important for selling into cross-breeding enterprises in Queensland.

“Breeders in Queensland are interested in British bred cattle for cross-breeding, largely to get access to the feedlot market,” Mr Reid said.

“It doesn’t really matter what British breed it is, as long as it has softness, but Herefords are renowned for their ability to do on grass.”

Mr Reid said the bull may potentially have gone for more if the season had been more favourable further south.

Next best price was $36,000 paid by a Walcha, NSW, buyer for Kymarney Quambone U120, a September 2023-drop bull sold by Kymarney Herefords at Uranquinty, NSW. The bull had figures in the top 10 per cent of the breed for milk, carcass weight and IMF.

Elle, 11, and Emma, 9, Davies, from Wild Bear Herefords at Meadows, South Australia, with the family's bulls which sold for $16,000 and $14,000 at the Herefords Australia national show and sale at Wodonga.

The Davies family’s Wild Bear Herefords from Meadows, South Australia, was also among the top prices, selling two bulls for $16,000 and $14,000.

Katelin Davies said the two bulls went to Victorian buyers from Ensay and Tarrington.

She said it had been a great day given the tough seasonal conditions in key buying areas.