MILLAH MURRAH 2018 BULL SALE REPORT Presale expectations were blown apart last Thursday, 6 th September, at the 30 th Millah Murrah Angus bull sale. 100% clearance was achieved for the 102 bulls offered. The sale average of $15,843 was the 2 nd highest in Angus breed history, surpassed only by the $16,348 figure attained in 2016 at Millah Murrah. Prior to the sale, the highest price for an Angus bull in 2018 sat at $37,000. This figure was passed five times. At $54,000, Millah Murrah Nugget N266 topped the sale, setting a new Australian record price for a yearling bull of any breed. The previous mark of $50,000 was set at Millah Murrah last year. Nugget was purchased by long term Millah Murrah clients, Kamilaroi Angus, of Alexander Downs at Merriwa, represented by Stephen & Robert Gill. It was their 3 rd time as purchaser of the high selling bull, along with two acquisitions of the 2 nd high selling bull at Millah Murrah sales. Nugget N266 was knocked down after a strong bidding duel with Booroomooka Angus Sinclair Munro. Sired by Ascot Hallmark H147, and out of a Booroomooka Theo cow, N266 tipped the scales at 678kg aged just 13 months with a sub 6 frame score body. He carries a B- muscle physique and displays enormous thickness throughout, with impeccable structure. Nugget s genomically enhanced EBV set includes a birth weight at +3.8, 600-day growth at +129, EMA at +4.8 and IMF at +2.5. Several leading studs expressed interest in obtaining semen from the bull post sale. He has been contracted to join the ABS stable. 2018 Millah Murrah Bull Sale High selling bull, Millah Murrah Nugget N266: $54,000
At $50,000 the 2 nd highest priced bull was Millah Murrah Kruse Time N177. He was purchased by Inglebrae Farms at Tenterfield, represented by Darren Battistuzzi. A heifer s calf By Millah Murrah Kruse Time K400, N177 carries a magnificent phenotype, backed by a peerless maternal pedigree, stacking cow making legends; BT Right Time 24J, Booroomooka Theo and Crusader of Stern in his immediate ancestry. N177 was part of a seven- bull draft from Kruse Time K400 that sold to average just shy of $20,000. At 17 months, he tipped the scales at 732kg, with 42 cm testes, and an EBV birth to growth spread of +2.8 to 110. 2018 Millah Murrah Bull Sale 2 nd high selling bull, Millah Murrah Kruse Time N177: $50,000 3 rd highest price of the day came in at Lot 41. He was Millah Murrah Klooney M176. Having experienced a good deal of presale admiration it was no surprise to see M176 selling near the top of the sale for $46,000. Long term supporters of Millah Murrah, Jim and Jackie Wedge acquired the 938kg two-year old powerhouse for their Ascot Angus Stud at Warwick in QLD. Displaying tremendous bone and fleshing, exceptional structure and overall sire appeal, with an excellent balanced EBV package and a strong pedigree of Klooney x Reality x Woody W100, M176 represented the complete package. Two bulls achieved the 4 th highest price of $40,000. The first one to hit this mark was another Klooney K42 son, Marlon Brando M304. Out of the same dam as Millah Murrah Kingdom, M304 carries show stopping looks, magnificent structure and mobility. He owns an excellent EBV set and really is as good a representative of the Millah Murrah maternally focussed approach as has come forward in the stud s history. Purchased by newcomers to the Angus Stud business, Craig Duren and his daughter and son-in-law Heather & Lucas Clayton, from Trunkey Creek near Bathurst, they staved off a strong bidding effort from Milwillah and Ardrossan Angus. The bull has been contracted to ABS, with semen already available.
2018 Millah Murrah Bull Sale 3 rd high selling bull, Millah Murrah Klooney M176: $46,000 2018 Millah Murrah Bull Sale =4 th high selling bull, Millah Murrah Marlon Brando M304: $40,000
The 2 nd bull to hit the $40,000 mark was the youngest bull in the sale, Millah Murrah Nectar N334. He went to Chris Paterson s Heart Angus stud at Tamworth after another strong duel with the same syndicate that underbid the previous $40,000 bull. By Coonamble Hector, N334 tipped the scales at 582kg with 41 cm testes aged just 12 months. Displaying superb structure and balanced phenotype, N334 s ancestry is extraordinary. He is the 3 rd son from his dam, Prue H113, to hit the $40,000 mark and her full sister is the $54,000 record priced mature Angus cow. Nectar carries an exciting blend of new and old genetics, a strong EBV package and has been contracted by Genetics Australia for future semen sales. 2018 Millah Murrah Bull Sale =4 th high selling bull, Millah Murrah Nectar N334: $40,000 The highlights did not stop there. At Lot 38 a son of Millah Murrah Kingdom, out of a Millah Murrah Hercules cow came into the ring. Weighing 1036kg as the 2 nd heaviest bull to ever sell at Millah Murrah, Kingdom M192 sold for $34,000 to break the record for an APR bull, that had stood at $27,000 since the 1991 Hazeldean sale at Cooma. Described by purchasing representative Terry Hanigan as as good a bull as I have seen in a long, long time carries himself so well with so much body mass and such incredible structure, some long-term observers of the programme felt M192 was the phenotypic equal of any bull to pass through the sale ring at Millah Murrah. He sold to Peter & Terry Hanigan of Coonamble in partnership with the Deans family and will go into their programmes, supplying bulls for the commercial herds of the two families and their clients. Bulls sold all over the country with four successful operators out of WA, 14 from Queensland and five buyers from Victoria helping to negate the strong downturn in local bull demand. Volume buyer was Richie & Jane Hooper at Taroom with five at $15,600. Five buyers acquired four bulls each: JS Grazing at Injune - four at $15,000; Steve & Robyn White at Roma - four at $12,500; Codrilla Pastoral Co at Rolleston four at $13,500; Cavan Station at Yass four at $13,500 and C & P Duren at Trunkey Creek four at $20,000.
The sale was conducted by Andrew Bickford and David Simpson of Elders Bathurst, with guest Auctioneer Paul Dooley in the rostrum. If the sale was not exciting enough, we were blessed to receive an inch of rain that night and unexpectedly now see Spring underway. We are so very grateful for the support we received this year and wish good fortune to everyone in the bush! 2018 Millah Murrah Bull Sale Australian record priced APR bull, Millah Murrah Kingdom M192. $34,000 to the Hanigan and Deans families Coonamble.