New Sunstruck genetics adds heat to final solo Keringa Angus bull sale
In what will be Keringa's final sale under a solo brand, Angus bulls have sold to $28,000 in Culburra on Monday.
The top bull Keringa Vada V126 at lot 22 was by new sire line Millah Murrah Sunstruck S207, which buyer Patrick Ross, Lucindale, said had exactly the "style" he was looking for.
"He was just a standout in the pen during Beef Week - upstanding, long - he will grow into one hell of a bull," he said.
"His higher birthweight (4.4) doesn't bother me; we have not had to pull a heifer in two years.
"I just have to make sure my heifers are right."
Mr Ross has been buying at Keringa since the stud's inception, often drawn to Millah Murrah Paratrooper P15 progeny.
"He is just a great bull," he said.
"But we weren't in the market for him today. We were looking for a similar outcross.
"We want our entire herd looking like peas in a pod, and we think he (Vada V126) can do that."
Keringa Vada V126's data included a short gestation at -7.8 (top 10pc), positive Mature Body Condition of +0.53 (top 4pc), and positive fats of 2.5 rib and 1.1 rump.
Mr Ross said the July 2024-drop would be run with 700 cows and heifers this year.
It was one of three bulls he bought, also picking up February 2024-drop Keringa Vanguard V17 in lot 8 for $15,000.
"Normally we stay away from two-year-old bulls, but we had seen him during Beef Week and just couldn't go past him," he said.
"He is a Paratrooper son, but we just thought he was great buying.
"The genetic horsepower here at Keringa, we know we're getting quality structure, and the style is what I want. We buy with confidence.
"He [Vanguard] will go with a line of 250 heifers that haven't been exposed to Paratrooper."
The sale's second-highest price of $18,000 went to Keringa Vigour V137 in lot 16, sold to a South East Victorian buyer on AuctionsPlus.
The July 2024-drop bull was by another new sire Millah Murrah Trigger T308, which Keringa stud principal Trent Walker had high hopes for prior to the sale.
"A bull with an incredible amount of carcase (13.3EMA, top 4pc), easy doing with a soft skin," the catalogue said.
The same buyer also picked up lot 29 Keringa Vada V145 - a Millah Murrah Sunstruck S207 son - for $13,000.
The catalogue described him as a low BW (+0.9, top 6pc), moderate version of his top-price brother, but still possessed a "huge amount of muscle".
Overall, Keringa, through Elders Keith, Platinum Livestock and auctioneer Miles Pfitzner, sold 45 bulls from 52 offered averaging $9200 - only a very slight decrease on its 2025 sale.
Mr Walker was pleased to see a number of new buyers in the crowd and online, and also those returning, especially ones who bought for the first time last year.
Strong interstate bidding came from AuctionsPlus, with the five bulls sold online averaging $13,400, bound for Vic and NSW.
Among the sale's volume buyers were Bully's Meats, Keith, with six bulls to $9000, averaging $7000; and Kangaringa Station, Keith, with six to $10,000, averaging $8333; while McPiggery, Lameroo, bought three bulls to $15,000, averaging $10,666; and Marcollat Pastoral, Padthaway, bought three to $12,000, averaging $8000.
Post-sale, Mr Walker said this was the final bull sale under the solo Keringa brand, with all 2025-drop calves now registered as Keringa MM.
"We have had an eight-year partnership with Millah Murrah, which we will continue through genetic sharing and knowledge, but we will now market the bulls out of Millah Murrah cows we run here in SA," he said.
"This allows a huge opportunity to access genetics from the Millah Murrah stable, from cows born and bred in this type of country.
"But the bulls produced will no longer be offered in NSW. We will offer them through this sale in SA and the first Keringa MM bull sale in Vic from 2027."
