Victoria and Tasmania's best cattle studs for 2024 ranked by bull sale averages
A prominent family-owned Angus breeding operation in western Victoria has entered the record books after setting an eye-watering sale average in 2024.
The Branson family's Banquet Angus stud at Mortlake sold the top-priced bull for $230,000 in March, attracting an average sale price of $19,127.
The average was more than $2000 higher compared to the average the stud set in 2023.
Stock & Land has ranked Victoria and Tasmania's top beef studs by highest sale average price, with a handful of studs entering the top 10 for the first time in three years.
Tasmanian-based Landfall Angus sold the highest amount of bulls across the two states in 2024, while renowned studs like Te Mania Angus, Merridale Angus, and Yarram Park feature in the top 10.
The eight studs that feature in the list attracted a sale average of more than $10,000.
In order to qualify for Victoria and Tasmania's best cattle studs for 2024, beef studs had to record a minimum 80 per cent clearance rate at the final knock of the gavel and offer a draft of 30 or more bulls on sale day.
Profiles on the top 10 studs are listed below.
This list only includes sales reported on by Stock & Land during 2024.
Find out which studs ranked highly in Victoria and Tasmania's best cattle studs for 2023 here.
1. Banquet Angus, Mortlake
Sale average: $19,127
Western Victorian stud Banquet Angus entered the record books in 2024 after selling the highest-priced bull on record at a Victorian bull sale.
The Mortlake stud sold a bull for $230,000, beating the previous record set by Te Mania Angus, Mortlake, of $130,000 in 2022.
Banquet achieved a total clearance of the 94 bulls it offered and averaged an impressive $19,127 at its autumn on-property sale in March.
The top-priced, 19-month-old bull, Lot 11, Banquet Tom Cruise T220, was was purchased by Bannaby Angus, Taralga, NSW.
Bids for Banquet Tom Cruise T220 started at $60,000, stunning buyers in the gallery, and then jumped by increments of $10,000 until it reached its sale price.
"[We had] a lot of support from existing clients [who have] had good results at the weaner sales and have seen the quality pay for them," Banquet Angus stud co-principal Hamish Branson said.
2. Banquet Angus, Mortlake
Sale average: $12,645
The Branson family continued their stronghold as one of Victoria and Tasmania's best cattle studs for 2024, achieving the first and second-highest-averaging bull sales across the two states.
Banquet Angus recorded a sale average of $12,645 at its spring on-property sale in September.
A total clearance of 31 bulls was recorded, selling to a top price of $26,000 and an average of $12,645.
Ryan Pastoral, Hawkesdale, picked up the top-priced animal, the only one they bought in the 31-sire offering.
Banquet markets 200 bulls annually through auction sales at Mortlake, and via private selections.
The operation is run by Noeleen and Stephen Branson and their children Gordon, Dianna and Hamish across 1300 hectares of owned and leased property.
3. Landfall Angus, Dilston, Tas
Sale average: $12,400
Tasmanian operation Landfall Angus sold the largest amount of bulls compared to any other stud in the two southern states in 2024, maintaining its position as one of the largest bull producers in Australia.
The Dilston, Tas, stud sold 211 bulls at its March 2024 sale, recording a top price of $38,000 and an average of $10,942.
The Archer family went on to sell 237 more bulls to a top price of $75,000 at its September sale in Launceston, Tas.
Landfall Angus stud principal Frank Archer said was humbled by the support from Tasmanian and mainland buyers.
"To get that clearance rate and the average price... it's been phenomenal really," he said.
In 1876, the Archer family settled at Landfall on the eastern banks of the Tamar River in northern Tasmania, purchasing 400 hectares.
Brothers Ed and Frank Archer along with their partners Kate and Zara officially took on the management of the Landfall operation in 2013 and now farm across two main properties in the Tamar Valley.
4. Te Mania Angus, Hexham
Sale average: $12,400
Interstate competition, including one Queensland buyer who purchased 13 bulls at auction, ensured Hexham stud Te Mania Angus maintained a top-five spot on Victoria and Tasmania's best cattle studs for 2024.
The top-priced bull at the stud's March sale, Lot 7, Te Mania Tough T1284, was bought via AuctionsPlus by James Cameron, Murrindindi Station, Yea, for a sizzling $41,000.
Of the 170 bulls offered for sale, 160 were sold to an average price of $12,400.
Roger Henwood, Winton, Qld, bought 13 bulls at the sale.
Mr Henwood said his grandfather bought him his first Te Mania bull for his 18th birthday, almost 20 years ago, and that he had been buying bulls from the stud since.
Te Mania Angus was founded by Edwyn Wilding, the father of Mary Gubbins, in the south island of New Zealand in 1928.
In 1971, Andrew and Mary Gubbins established Te Mania Angus in Australia by importing two young sires and 58 females.
The herd now includes 1500 stud females and 400 recipient cows, and it is managed by Tom Gubbins and Hamish McFarlane.
5. Landfall Angus, Dilston, Tas
Sale average: $12,362
The Archer family of Landfall Angus in Tasmania backed up their impressive autumn sale with a total clearance of 237 bulls in September, with the top-priced lot fetching $75,000.
The Launceston sale averaged $12,362 and smashed the top-priced of $40,000 set at the stud's spring auction in 2023.
The top-priced bull - a two-year-old - was Lot 14, Landfall Pheasantry T1832, which sold for $75,000 to Gilmandyke Pastoral, Orange, NSW.
Pheasantry was a full brother to Landfall Pheasantry S1755, bought by Dunoon Angus, Holbrook, NSW, for $240,000 in March 2023.
Landfall Angus stud co-principal Ed Archer said the sale attracted repeat customers and volume buyers.
"There was a good mixture of previous customers, plus new faces, which was nice to see," Mr Archer said.
6. Merridale Angus, Tennyson
Sale average: $12,235
An Angus bull, described as having a "top line you could ride your lawn mower on" was knocked down for the highest price at Merridale Angus' annual on-property sale in March 2024.
The Tennyson stud sold 35 of the 41 bulls it offered at auction for an average price of $12,235.
Merridale Angus is run by Peter Collins and his family across 320 hectares in north-central Victoria.
This stud is based mainly on Merrigrange bloodlines.
Mr Collins' property was flooded during the Christmas 2023 period, ruining all its pastures, so the animals had be fed more hay.
7. Boonaroo Angus, Corndale
Sale average: $11,892
A prominent South Australian feedlot that buys large consignments of western district weaner cattle each January was the largest volume buyer of cattle at Boonaroo Angus' 2024 bull sale.
Princess Royal Station, Burra, SA, dominated the early stages of the February 2024 auction, paying a total of $185,000 for 10 bulls.
That included the top-priced bull, Lot 9, Boonaroo Effective T202, for $34,000.
The Corndale stud sold 121 of 125 bulls to average $11,892.
The operation is run by the Foster family near Casterton and spans 1600 hectares.
The second-top-priced bull of the sale, Lot 4, Boonaroo Genius T227, sold for $30,000 and was bought by first-time buyers Winfield Angus stud, Wangoom.
8. Yarram Park, Willaura
Sale average: $12,235
Interstate buyers showed solid interest in Yarram Park's Hereford bulls at its annual on-property bull sale at Willaura in February, months before the shock news the stud would close its gates within months.
The stud sold 48 of 59 Hereford bulls offered under the hammer for an average of $11,687.
Six months later, Yarram Park stud principal Antony Baillieu announced the stud would be "reluctantly" dispersed by the end of the year, and more than 500 live cattle lots would be put up for auction.
"Like all families no doubt - we at present are going through succession planning," Mr Baillieu said in August.
"Our children who have grown up on the land are now leading very separate lives and as a consequence, they neither have the passion nor the understanding to manage a Hereford stud.
"I have observed in my lifetime, the handing over of a seedstock business - if the enthusiasm isn't there - the demise is pretty rapid."
In December, the stud held its dispersal, where hundreds of female cattle went under the hammer.
9. Alpine Angus, Rosewhite
Sale average: $12,362
A newborn baby may have stopped a NSW couple from attending the Alpine Angus sale in person, but it did not deter them from purchasing the top-priced bull at the March 2024 sale.
Henshaw Angus stud co-principals Jack and Brianna Henshaw, Kempsey, NSW, bought the $32,000 top-priced bull, Lot 50, at an autumn sale held at Rosewhite.
Mr Henshaw said they had tried to get to the sale in person, but they had recently welcomed a newborn baby and decided on the bull through his dataset and video footage.
Seventy-eight of 88 Angus bulls were sold with an average price of $10,949.
The Alpine Angus herd is run on 340 hectares owned by the Delany family; 100 hectares at Porepunkah, at the foot of Mount Buffalo, and 250 hectares at Rosewhite, 15 kilometres away.
The stud was established in 1998 by Jim and Clare Delany.
10. Weeran Angus, Byaduk
Sale average: $10,015
Western Victorian stud Weeran Angus rounds out the top 10 highest-averaging sales across Victoria and Tasmania after selling 65 of 69 bulls to a top price of $18,000.
The Byaduk stud recorded an average of $10,015 at the Moore family's 52nd on-property bull sale.
Weeran stud principal Alec Moore said the sale was underpinned by new sire Landfall Mainland Q494, purchased in 2021 in syndication with South Australian studs Bull Oak, based in Pinnaroo, SA, and Mandayen Angus, based in Keith, SA.
The Moore family runs a mixed-farming operation comprising cropping, an 850-cow herd and 3500 mature-aged ewes.
Additional reporting by Joely Mitchell, Andrew Miller, Barry Murphy, Andrew Norris, Philippe Perez and Rachel Simmonds.
