Floods fail to dampen strong prices at Black Stump bull sale at Blackall

Despite the challenges thrown up by the weather in the past week, the Black Stump bull sale at Blackall not only went ahead on Tuesday, March 17, but it showed why it claims the title of premier multi-vendor multi-breed sale in western Queensland.

While the sale average of $10,545 was a small boost on the 2025 average price of $10,111, organisers were very happy with the 99 per cent clearance rate of 110 bulls sold from 111 offered, and a top price of $24,000.

This compares to 92pc cleared last year, when 90 of 97 bulls were sold, and a top price of $20,000.

This year's participating vendors included two new studs - the Black Santa Cattle Co from Tamworth, NSW, and Sowden Ultrablacks from Booie.

Returning vendors included Mountain Valley Angus and Poll Herefords from Coolatai, NSW; Callaway Poll Herefords from Irvingdale; MCN Brafords from Bell; Strathgyle Brafords from Bell; Mountview Charolais, Droughtmaster, and Charmaster from Cambooya; Wattlebray Charbrays from Chinchilla; Meldon Park Simmentals from Cecil Plains; and Rondel Droughtmasters from Winton.

A 912kg bull offered by Mark and Nikita Duthie's Callaway Poll Hereford stud topped the sale this year, selling for $24,000 to the Anderson family of Eureka Grazing at Alpha.

The Andersons run a predominantly Braford herd on their Eureka, Oakleigh and Corntop aggregation and haven't bought Hereford bulls before, but wanted to strengthen their genetics, and will put Callaway Q135 Vulcan V008 over their Braford cows.

The 23-month-old PP bull had P8 and rib fat measurements of 13 and 9 millimetres respectively, an eye muscle area of 126 square centimetres, intramuscular fat of 5pc, and a scrotal circumference of 40cm.

Mr Duthie is best known as GDL's southern studstock manager and said he and Nikita were absolutely stoked to top the sale, recording their highest price for a bull in the process.

"We've had plenty of double-figured bulls - we normally take our bulls down to the national sale in Dubbo in June and try and bring our two-year-old fellows out here - but this is our record," he said.

It's their 25^th year of operating Callaway but only their third time at the Black Stump sale.

Their top bull was sired by Wirruna Quambone Q135, who Mr Duthie said had sired a bull that sold for $47,000 in South Australia in February.

"Our bull was a standout calf - he had bone and depth and plenty of weight for age," Mr Duthie said. "He was my pick of our draft."

Like some of the other vendors, the Duthies had to detour around the Warrego Highway closure at Chinchilla to get to Blackall, while the Carrington's Rondel Droughtmaster stud was able to make it across the five-kilometre-wide Thomson River at Longreach.

Mr Duthie said they'd come together as a team last week and made the decision to continue with the sale despite the widespread flooding.

"We were a bit worried with the weather, but I'm not a big fan of postponing because you lose momentum," he said.

Not only did full stands tell a story of the sale's popularity, but it was well supported online.

According to StockLive's Kim Ellis, 353 people registered to watch the sale, with 33 bulls sold to online buyers, from as far afield as Inglefield in Victoria, to Warwick, Hughenden, Julia Creek, Aramac, Muttaburra, Longreach, Roma, Mitchell, Kingaroy and Thangool.

Warwick's Craigie Station, represented by Ben Johnstone, APL, paid the sale's second top price of $20,000, for one of the 18 Simmental bulls offered by Rodney and Lis Skene of Meldon Park.

The homozygous polled bull was first up in the Cecil Plains stud's line-up, weighing 974kg at 22 months, with P8 and rib fat measurements of 7 and 6mm, an EMA of 145sq cm, IMF of 5.1pc, and a scrotal circumference of 41.5cm.

Ms Skene said his sire, Mavstar Rawhide 200, was what they were using quite heavily in their stud at present.

She said the young bull's buyers were new to the stud but had looked at their offering a month ago, with the aim of putting them over Droughtmaster cows.

The only stud left from the original Black Stump sale held 19 years ago, Ms Skene said they had gained quite a following from it.

"We were a bit nervous because of the way the roads have been, but we sold all our bulls and increased our average to $12,000," she said.

One of the newest studs, the Black Santa Cattle Company came up from Tamworth with a draft of 10 bulls, one of which sold for the sale's third top price of $19,000, to the Bourke family, based at Keswick Station, Julia Creek, one of the online bidders.

Neil Watson was representing BSCC at the sale and said it had been a great debut for them.

"Quite a few of the black Santa component [of our annual on-property sale] come up this way, to Longreach, Winton, Blackall, Tambo, Augathella - but all bar one [of the buyers] here today were new, which is interesting," he said. "Anyone that's tried these bulls comes back for more."

Mr Watson said he had been thinking they should have kept the bull for their stud, because he was so complete.

"He's one of those calves just getting better and better all the time, because we had him second last in the draw," he said.

Volume buyers included Tambo's Glover family, buying six bulls for an average $8666; Clayton and Mel Arnold from Muttaburra, selecting six bulls online for an average $14,66; and Dallas Herrod, Torrens Creek, also online, paying an average $8000 for six bulls.

Vendor averages

• Mountain Valley Angus: 18/18 sold, $10,055 average
• Mountain Valley Poll Hereford: 6/6 sold, $8166 average
• Callaway Poll Hereford: 4/4 sold, $12,750 average
• Strathgyle Brafords: 3/3 sold, $6000 average
• MCN Brafords: 4/4 sold, $8750 average
• Black Santa Cattle Company: 10/10 sold, $10,600 average
• Sowden Ultrablacks: 4/4 sold, $10,750 average
• Mountview Charolais: 18/18, $11,888 average
• Wattlebray Charbray: 8/8 sold, $9875 average
• Meldon Park Simmentals: 18/18 sold, $12,000 average
• Rondel Droughtmaster: 15/15, $10,000 average

• Selling agents - GDL, interfaced with StockLive