Te Mania Angus sells top bull to major NSW stud at mega $1.6 million sale
Two of Australia's best-known Angus studs traded top genetics on Wednesday, with one of the best bulls in Victoria headed to NSW.
Texas Angus stud principals Ben and Wendy Mayne, Warialda, NSW, snapped up the top-priced bull at the Te Mania Angus stud annual autumn bull sale at Hexham.
The bull, Lot 4, Te Mania Vanderplank V382, sizzled all the way to $56,000, and will head to his new home over the coming weeks.
The sale-topper was sired by Moogenilla Quinella and out of Barunah Q24, and at 850 kilograms, was the heaviest bull on offer.
The July 2024-drop bull recorded TransTasman Angus Cattle Evaluation figures of +9.1 square centimetres eye muscle area, birth weight of +5.5kg, 200-day weight of +65kg, 400-day weight of +115kg and a 600-day weight of +157kg.
The bull also had carcase weight and milk figures of +101kg and +24kg, respectively, and intramuscular fat of +3 per cent.
One of the sale-topper's strongest figures was its temperament at +37.
Ms Mayne had viewed the bull at last month's Stock & Land Beef Week, and she and Mr Mayne made the purchase online on Wednesday.
She said she saw more than 1000 bulls during her trip down south last month.
The top-priced Te Mania bull was one of only two she liked out of the 1000 animals, the second being a $23,000 purchase from the Weeran Angus stud, Byaduk.
"I thought he was the best phenotype bull at Te Mania," she said.
She said the bull also had an excellent balance of data, with "exceptional" figures for gestation length (-10.1 days).
"We decided with his overall balance of data and phenotype that we wanted him," she said.
"The other major one was his docility."
Mr Mayne said Texas was working to breed bigger, longer and more athletic cattle with good skins, and Lot 4 would suit this approach.
He said "length weighs and weight pays".
It was the first time Texas acquired a bull from Te Mania.
The Maynes planned to pull some semen from the sire, and potentially join him with some first calvers once they got him and the Weeran Angus bull home and assessed.
Te Mania Angus stud director Hamish McFarlane said the sale-topper had a "complete package" of data and phenotype, with scale and presence.
"He's athletic in the way he moves," he said.
"He's really quiet and docile and very easy to handle."
Overall, Te Mania sold 157 bulls from the 170 it offered for an average of $10,509.
The mega sale saw the stud gross a total of almost $1.65 million, not including any bulls sold privately after the sale.
This compared to the stud's 2025 autumn bull sale where it sold 162 of 166 bulls for an average of $11,290, to a top of $45,000, and for an overall gross of almost $1.83 million.
There were several volume and repeat buyers at the sale including Craig Waldron, Launceston, Tas, who picked up a total of six bulls.
Mr Waldron purchased three bulls for commercial cattle producers James and Fiona Patterson, Balranald, NSW, including Lot 126 and Lot 127, both for $20,000.
The other three bulls he purchased will go to a commercial Angus producer in northern Tasmania.
Mr Waldron said he had bought Te Mania bulls for clients for several years due to their "strong phenotype" and data focus.
"They run a very strong data-driven program," he said.
The sale saw bulls sold to four states including Victoria, NSW, South Australia and Tasmania.
Te Mania farm manager Edward Gubbins said he was "happy" with the result, and pleased to see so many return buyers at the sale.
Mr Gubbins said the stud offered a diverse and quality line-up of bulls.
Elders stud stock manager Ross Milne described the sale as "solid", given the high volume of bulls on offer.
"The bulls presented very, very well," he said.
Mr Milne said the bulls were bought by repeat and new buyers with a large geographic spread, in line with the strong reputation of the Te Mania program.
