Good results in first combined bull sale between two southern studs

Unlike most bull sales this year where hot and warm conditions have tested buyers, at last week's Arkle Angus and Allegria Park Angus bull sale at Esperance, it was wet wintry conditions they had to contend with.

Despite the threat of rain, buyers weren't put off and they still showed they were at the sale to buy - and this saw them push prices to a sale high $16,000 for an Allegria Park bull.

In their first joint sale, the Arkle Angus stud and the Allegria Park Angus stud put forward a quality line-up of 74 Angus bulls backed by good figures and genetics and they found good local buying support.

Right throughout, the 23 registered buyers in attendance showed their appreciation, bidding with authority on the bulls which best suited their requirements, ensuring solid sale results for the studs when the final numbers were crunched.

By the end of the sale, the Nutrien Livestock selling team, led by auctioneer James Culleton, had cleared 64 of the 74 bulls on offer at an average of $7391.

But it wasn't only the buyers at the yards who influenced the sale result, so did three active bidders on AuctionsPlus which placed 34 online bids across 11 lots which resulted in four selling through the AuctionsPlus platform.

Nutrien Livestock, Esperance agent, Darren Chatley, said overall it was a solid sale throughout.

"The quality of the bulls offered by both studs was exceptional and the buyers were saying the same thing," Mr Chatley said.

"The feedback from the buyers on the quality of the line-up was very positive which was great to hear.

"There was a good turnout of buyers on the day, which included a number of new buyers which hadn't purchased from the studs before.

"Right through the sale the buyers were solid in their bidding throughout and I thought the top end bulls sold very well to strong competition with 14 bulls selling for $10,000 or more.

"It would have been good if we had an extra two or three buyers operating in the sale as it would have just added that little bit more competition and helped the clearance.

"In the end however the final sale result was on par with pre-sale expectations and everyone was pleased with the final result."

Allegria Park

Leading the way was the Kuss family's Allegria Park stud, which is celebrating 50 years of breeding this year.

The stud not only sold the $16,000 top-priced bull, but it also recorded a near-perfect clearance and an average which was up more than $2600 on its 2025 sale result.

The Kuss family offered 29 bulls and sold 28 under the hammer to 12 different buyers at an average of $7964, which was up $2614.

In comparison, in its sale last year, the stud offered 25 bulls and sold 20 at an average of $5350.

Creating the most interest in the Allegria Park team was a well-balanced, long-bodied August 2024-drop bull, Allegria Park One-Fiddy V75, which was catalogued in lot 47.

After catching the eye of a number of buyers presale, there was strong competition on the young sire before it was finally knocked down to return Allegria Park buyer Wes Graham, WJ & FE Graham, Esperance, who was operating on AuctionsPlus from Perth, as the sale's $16,000 top price.

One-Fiddy V75 is by Black Market One-Fiddy S150, which is a son of Millah Murrah Paratrooper P15 and out of Allegria Park Rosebud S45, which is by Allegria Park Genesis N46.

Not only did the young bull impress on the eye, it also has a very good set of figures to match.

It has Estimated Breeding Values of +8.3 for calving ease direct (DIR), +4.1 calving ease daughters (DTRS), -5.4 gestation length (GL), +3.2 birthweight (BWT), +63, +119 and +146 for 200, 400 and 600-day weights, +152 mature cow weight (MCW), +0.53 mature cow body condition (MBC), +9.3 mature cow height (MCH), +11 milk, +2.4 scrotal size (SS), -6.1 days to calving, +96 carcase weight (CWT), +8.7 EMA, +0.9 rib fat, +1.9 rump fat, +0.4 retail beef yield (RBY), +1.1 IMF, +0.32 feed efficiency (NFI-F), +5 docility (DOC), +0.66 claw set, +0.86 foot angle and +0.96 leg angle.

With these figures One-Fiddy V75 ranks in the top five per cent of the breed for 400 day-weight, MCW, MBC and CWT, and top 10pc for DIR and 200 and 600-day weights, as well as top 20pc for rump fat and claw set.

It has index values of +$242 for the Angus breeding ($A) index (top 21pc) and +$450 for the Angus Breeding Low Feed Cost ($A-L) index (top 3pc).

Mr Graham said it was the bloodline of the bull he was chasing the most.

"We bought his sire in partnership with Allegria Park a few years ago and his oldest progeny are just coming through and he has been breeding extremely well," Mr Graham said.

"I wanted to get one of his best sons from Andrew (Kuss) from a good Allegria Park female line, so I could add him to our line of these bulls."

Mr Graham said One-Fiddy V75 was a good stretchy, young sire which was well-proportioned.

"He is a good all round type with many of his sire's traits," he said.

"When it comes to his figures, he also ticked a lot of boxes for me.

"He is a versatile bull which can go over heifers or cows."

This year the Graham family will join 2300 breeders, including a small nucleus herd to breed bulls for their own use for a June/July calving.

The Grahams wean their calves in late February and they background them onfarm for four-six months before they start selling their steers in June at about 12 months of age at 360kg.

All of the Grahams steers calves are sold to a Wheatbelt lotfeeder who feeds them for the domestic market.

The next best price in the Allegria Park offering was $13,000 and it was achieved twice.

The first to pay $13,000 for an Allegria Park sire was GBT Spencer, Esperance, which secured Allegria Park Real Deal V49 from lot 20 at this value.

The July 2024-drop Real Deal V49 is an AI-bred son of Alpine Real Deal R163 and out of a Millah Murrah Paratrooper P15 daughter, Allegria Park Champagne T5.

Real Deal V49 ranks in the top 3pc for both the $A and $A-L indexes, with figures of $281 and $451 respectively, while it is in the top 10pc for EMA, top 15pc for 400-day weight and top 20pc for DIR, BWT, 200-day weight, SS, and foot angle.

In addition to Real Deal V49, the Esperance-based enterprise also secured a second Allegria Park sire at $5000.

The other buyer to purchase at $13,000 from the Allegria Park line-up was return buyer the Fowler family, Chilwell, Condingup, who purchased with the assistance of Mr Chatley.

At $13,000 Chilwell secured a July 2024-drop, ET-bred bull, Allegria Park Trooper V25.

Trooper V25 is by Millah Murrah Paratrooper P15 and out of Allegria Park Wilcoola R50, which is a daughter of Allegria Park Discovery N27.

It ranks in the top 5pc of the breed for 200-day weight and top 10pc for 400-day weight and SS, while it is in the top 20pc for 600-day weight, MCW, MBC and foot angle.

Trooper V25 however wasn't the only bull the Fowler family purchased from the Allegria Park line-up, it also secured another seven bulls including ones at $11,500 and $10,000, finishing with a team of eight at an average of $7563, to be Allegria Park's volume buyer.

Mr Chatley said the Fowlers were looking for bulls with good conformation and a good even spread of EBVs to use over cows and heifers.

"We were looking for new bloodlines to infuse into the herd and there were plenty on offer," Mr Chatley said.

"As they are a self-replacing herd, maternal traits are important but we also wanted moderate birthweights and good growth as they finish all their own calves on grass."

This year the Fowlers will calve down about 2500 pure Angus breeders in March/April.

The calves are then yard weaned and then finished on grass and sold to the supermarket trade.

"We are aiming for a dressed weight of about 275-280kg at 18 months old when they are sold from August to until October," he said.

Another strong supporter of the Allegria Park team was regular buyer, Morundah Pty Ltd, Esperance, which purchased four bulls to a high of $12,000 and an average of $9875.

Heading to Morundah Pty Ltd at $12,000 was Allegria Park Trooper V20.

Trooper V20 is a full ET-bred brother to Trooper V25 and it ranks in the top 5pc for SS and the $A index and top 10pc for the $A-L index.

Another buyer at the top end of the Allegria Park offering, paying $12,000 for Allegria Park Tony V71, was Hargate Park, Esperance.

The Coonamble 38 Special R145 son is in the top 10pc for MCH, SS, DTC and claw set.

Other buyers to support the Allegria Park team securing multiple bulls were NS & MH Lawrance, Esperance, which averaged $6667 over a team of three, while Willawayup Farms, Esperance, purchased two bulls at a $5500 average and Rancho East, Condingup, collected two, both at $5000.

Arkle Angus

The Cowan and Solway families, Arkle Angus, had the largest percentage of bulls in the offering with a team of 45 bulls and this offering followed on from the stud's sale held at Rosa Brook in February.

By the end of the Arkle Angus offering, 36 of the 45 bulls offered had found new homes, selling to 12 different buyers at an average of $6944 and to a top of $12,000.

In its sale at Rosa Brook, the stud offered and sold 34 bulls at an average of $10,206.

Topping the Arkle Angus line-up at $12,000 was the first bull offered in the sale, Arkle Jaal V452 in lot one and it was secured by return buyer the Davies family, Harry Davies Trust, Esperance, who have been buying from the stud since its very first sale.

The July 2024-drop, ET-bred Jaal V452 is by Milwillah Jaal R138 and out of Cherylton Grace N38, which is a daughter of Coonamble Junior J266.

The well-balanced sire has EBVs of +3.5 for calving ease direct (DIR), +6.1 calving ease daughters (DTRS), -8.3 gestation length (GL), +4.6 birthweight (BWT), +62, +116 and +148 for 200, 400 and 600-day weights, +142 mature cow weight (MCW), +0.27 mature cow body condition (MBC), +10.6 mature cow height (MCH), +18 milk, +4.4 scrotal size (SS), -6.7 days to calving, +88 carcase weight (CWT), +9.8 EMA, -2.6 rib fat, -1.3 rump fat, +0.4 retail beef yield (RBY), +1.9 IMF, -0.18 feed efficiency (NFI-F), +23 docility (DOC), +0.56 claw set, +0.64 foot angle and +1.04 leg angle.

With these figures Jaal V452 is in the top 5pc of the breed for SS and foot angle, top 10pc for GL, 400 and 600-day weights, MCW, CWT and claw set, as well as top 15pc for 200-day weight, MCH and feed efficiency.

It has index values of +$241 for the Angus breeding ($A) index (top 22pc) and +$440 for the Angus Breeding Low Feed Cost ($A-L) index (top 5pc).

Harry Davies said they really liked Jaal V452 and it was one of their first picks in the catalogue.

"He is a well-structured bull with good balance," Mr Davies said.

"I think he will grow into a really nice, big bull.

"He also had very good growth figures as well as good carcase weight, calving ease and docility figures.

"I especially liked his index values.

"I also had a close look into his sire and liked his pedigree and breeding."

In addition to buying Jaal V452, the Davies family purchased another six bulls, including a further two Milwillah Jaal R138 sons from the Arkle Angus offering to finish with a team of seven at an average of $7714.

Also in the family's team at $11,000 was an AI-bred Millah Murrah Paratrooper P15 son, Arkle Paratrooper V82 which is in the top 2pc for CWT and top 10pc for 200-day weight, milk, and the $A index.

Mr Davies said they have continued to return and buy strongly from Arkle Angus since its first sale because the stud's bulls have been performing really well for them and because they have very good temperaments.

"The bulls we purchased today had to have good growth and good docility," he said.

This season the Davies family will join 400 Angus cows and 200 heifers, for a March calving after not joining any heifers last year.

The family aims to sell its calves at 9-10 months old to either backgrounders or lotfeeders after they have been yard weaned for five to seven days.

The second top price in the Arkle Angus team was $11,500 and it was bid by Morundah Pty Ltd, which has purchased from the stud before.

At $11,500 Morundah Pty Ltd secured Arkle Real Deal V14, which is an ET-bred son of Alpine Real Deal R163 and out of a Millah Murrah Paratrooper P15 daughter, Arkle Abigail S8.

Real Deal V14 is in the top 1pc of the breed for foot angle and the $A index plus the top 5pc for the $A-L index plus top 10pc for 200-day weight and IMF.

In addition to Real Deal V14, Moorundah Pty Ltd, which was looking for well-structured bulls that had good balanced figures with nothing too extreme, also purchased another four bulls from the Arkle Angus offering, finishing with five at an average of $9200.

Along with buying strongly from the Allegria Park offering, the Fowler family, Chilwell, also made its presence felt in the Arkle Angus side of the catalogue, purchasing eight bulls at an average of $6438, making it the volume buyer from Arkle Angus as well.

In the Arkle Angus line-up, Chilwell paid to a high of $11,000 for ET-bred bull, Arkle Real Deal V80, which is by Alpine Real Deal R163 and out of Arkle Eva R9, which is a daughter of Millah Murrah Paratrooper P15.

Real Deal V80 ranks in the top 5pc of the breed for 400-day weight, MBC, foot angle and the $A-L index, while it is in the top 10pc for 200-day weight, MCW and EMA.

Other buying multiple bulls from the offering were Shayne Starr, Esperance, who purchased two bulls at an $8000 average, while James Mollett & Partners, Ravensthorpe, secured two both at $7000 and a Metricup buyer on AuctionsPlus purchased two at a $6000 average.

There were another three buyers which secured either two or three bulls each and all were purchased at $5000.