Brangus goes top, bulk buyer gets 10 Angus bulls at 2026 Marcella sale

A Brangus bull got the top price at the 2026 Marcella Angus, Brangus and Ultrablack sale, in a sign of strong demand for Bos indicus content in the south east.

More than 100 people packed the stands at the Innes family's Booubyjan property for their ninth annual sale on Saturday, August 1.

Bidders came mostly from local areas such as Mundubbera, Biggenden, and Maryborough, south to the Brisbane and Lockyer Valleys.

Early bids saw most of the first 10 Angus bulls sell for $8000 to $10,000, but it was clear that a handful of attendees had been holding back when the first Brangus bull was brought into the ring.

In total, 36 of 49 bulls sold through the ring for a 73 per cent clearance, a gross of $327,000 and an average of $9083.

By comparison, 46 of 49 bulls sold on the day in 2025 for a gross sale value of $414,000, a clearance of 93.9pc, an average of $9000 and a top of $18,000.

Faces of the 2026 Marcella Angus, Brangus and Ultrablack sale

Pictures by Zac Braxton-Smith

Agents were still finalising deals on a handful of lots that hadn't sold through the ring in the first hour after bidding finished in 2026.

Commercial producers Link and Tracy Davies, Mundubbera, bought Brangus bull Marcella El Dorado for the top price of $26,000.

He was 26 months old and weighed 842 kilograms, with an eye muscle area of 130 square centimetres, scrotal circumference of 40cm, intramuscular fat of 4.7pc, and P8 and rib fat measurements of 10 and 8 millimetres.

Marcella principal Rhys Innes said Marcella El Dorado was very correct overall, easy on the eye and had plenty of sire power.

"His sire, Telpara Hills El Dorado, is onto his third drop now, and his dam (Marcella Miss Hotline) goes back to our first Ultrablack sire," Mr Innes said.

"We have been selling Brangus since the start, but the Bos indicus content has become a bigger part of our operation over the past five years.

"It's something that will continue given how well they perform in the ticks and heat, and the demand from buyers.

"We are pleased that Marcella El Dorado has gone to long-time supporters of our sale."

Mr Davies said his family had been chasing a Brangus or Ultrablack bull for a while to get more Bos indicus content into their herd.

"It's just Tracy and I at home, so getting a bull with the right temperament is first and foremost...(as well as) ticking all the other boxes," he said.

"We will use El Dorado to breed replacement heifers, so he'll go over some of our best cows.

"He'll get a couple of months to settle in before joining in late October."

In a full breakdown of the result, 24 of 35 Angus bulls sold through the ring for a $7708 average, while 11 of 14 Brangus and Ultrablack bulls sold averaged $12,360.

Phil Usher's Usher Pastoral Company bought the largest number of lots through the ring, with 10 head for an average of $6900.

He was looking for Angus bulls with clean coats, according to Shepherdson & Boyd agent Vince O'Brien, who bought for the Ushers.

"Most of these bulls will go to Taroom for a few months then onto Julia Creek, to go over Droughtmaster Euro-cross cows," Mr O'Brien said.

Elders agent Mitch Jackson, who sold the top-price bull, said there was plenty of demand for slick-coated bulls.

"Buyers are becoming more selective, bidding for fewer bulls but willing to pay more for the one they want," Mr Jackson said.

"We saw this in the result today.

"The Innes family got great local support, as they always do, particularly from buyers around the Burnett."

• Agents: Elders and Shepherdson & Boyd, interfaced with AuctionsPlus.