Moorunga Angus sells 'all rounder' bull to Red Hill producer at annual sale

The top-priced bull at the annual Moorunga Angus, Dromona, spring bull sale was bought by a top Red Hill beef producer.

Watermill Pastoral, Red Hill, picked up the bull, Lot 5, for a steady $13,000, after some competitive online bidding.

Watermill farm manager Matt Thompson said the bull was a "smooth all-rounder" which would cross well to the operation's 110 Angus breeders.

The top bull, Moorunga Converse V060, will be joined with cows and heifers in November.

It was the second time Mr Thompson had purchased a Moorunga bull for Waterhill.

He said he had been pleased with the stud's genetics and this time around, he said he was "impressed" with both the bull's phenotype and figures.

"I thought he'd be a good one," he said.

Mr Thompson said the bull would put carcase into some of his bigger cows and said the subsequent weaners would be sold at Leongatha.

The sale-topper was sired by LT Converse 8011 and out of Moorunga Franchita T49.

The April 2024-drop bull recorded TransTasman Angus Cattle Evaluation figures of +10.4 square centimetres eye muscle area, birth weight of +0.7 kilograms, 200-day weight of +59kg, 400-day weight of +100kg and a 600-day weight of +118kg.

The Moorunga stud was managed by Glenn and Susie Trout.

Ms Trout said the LT Converse 8011 sired bulls were proving to be very consistent and this was part of Lot 5's appeal.

"He's a calving ease bull that still has a lot of power about him," she said.

Ms Trout said the sale saw a mix of buyers, with a number of return clients and a few new faces.

The majority of the bulls sold to South Gippsland, a few went to northern Victoria and one to the eastern Riverina, NSW.

Overall, the stud sold 20 from the 32 bulls offered for an average of $7625 and to the top of $13,000.

The stud's online sale grossed a total of $152,500.

Mr Trout said while he would have liked to have sold a few more bulls, he was pleased with the result, given the dry conditions which had impacted much of South Gippsland.

He said there were a number of regular bull buyers who didn't purchase bulls this year for this reason.

Elders Pakenham branch manager Peter Rollason said the season definitely affected the sale, which still saw a good result.

"The sale was definitely impacted by less buying power from South Gippsland due to the season," he said.

"A few regular buyers weren't there, but there were a few new faces as well."

Mr Rollason said he was happy with some of the prices secured for the stud, and said the base price of $6000 was a reflection of the ongoing uplift in the commercial cattle market.

Moorunga had invested in a range of top Angus genetics in recent years Mr Rollason said he felt it was paying dividends.

"We thought it was a better line up of bulls than last year," Mr Rollason said.

"They focus on breeding to an even type."

He said the stud was producing bulls to sire cattle with plenty of muscle and fleshing ability, and that docility was another key attribute of their breeding program.

Mr Rollason said the top-priced bull was well balanced and really caught the eye.