Lucrana shatters record with $47,000 top price at Texas Simmental sale
The top priced Simmental bull at the Lucrana sale sold for $17,000 more than the 2025 sale's top bull, and more than $20,000 higher than the second-top-priced bull, at the annual sale in Texas on August 14.
This year marks the 15th anniversary for Lucrana's annual on-property sale, and 40 years since the stud's registration.
Bidding was hot from the beginning at the sale, with three of the first four bulls selling for more than $20,000 each, to four different bidders.
The top-price bull sold for $47,000 through Nutrien Rockhampton to Yacamunda Investments, operated by the Scott family near Collinsville, who are repeat buyers at the sale.
The bull, Lucrana Witness W2, was sired by Grangeburn Quantom of Solance, and out of Lucrana Q13.
He was 19 months old, weighed 830 kilograms, homozygous polled, scored 88 per cent in morphology, had rib and P8 scans of 8 and 8 millimetres respectively, intramuscular fat of 5.5pc, an eye muscle area of 145 square centimetres, and a scrotal circumference of 41 centimetres.
Buyer Dillon Scott said he was drawn to the bull for his natural performance and raw data, and plans to use him in the family's breeding plan.
"[We] plan to use him over grey Brahman cows to breed Simbrah bulls for our own operation - it's fairly dry at home, so we will have a good spell until it rains," Mr Scott said.
The bull was the only purchase the Scott family made during the bidding, which agent Henry Sinnamon said could be attributed to the family's desire for quality over quantity.
"Yacamunda is an extensive bullock feeder operation, looking for a better type of bull - a sire - to breed some herd bulls for their in-herd use program... they have bought some good quality females throughout the year, and were looking for a sire to go over the top of them," Mr Sinnamon said.
Lucrana Simmental principal Andrew Moore said the sale's very strong average and record top gave him confidence that the stud was breeding quality cattle, and should continue in its current direction.
He said the sire appeal was what encouraged such strong bidding, alongside Lucrana Witness W2's docile nature.
"He had so much sire appeal about him, being homozygous polled, and tremendous raw data figures, like his eye muscle and fat scans - plus just soft and easy-going," he said.
The sale saw 68 bulls offered, and 57 sold, for a clearance rate of 83.8 per cent, a total of $709,000, and an average of $12,438.60.
The top-price bull exceeded the previous year's top price by $17,000, and this year's second top-price by $21,000, marking a new record for the stud.
The second-top-price bull - Lucrana Valiant V115 - sold for $26,000 to Maller Pastoral Company, operated by Ron and Deb Howse, at Wallumbilla.
Volume buyers included Steve and Robyn White and Zurland Pastoral Company, who each purchased three lots for an average of $8,000.
There was a diverse range of buyers, with more than 31 in-person bidders, and 13 lots sold online through Stocklive, which vendor Andrew Moore said was a mix of new and repeat faces.
Nutrien stud stock representative Colby Ede said the sale was a success, with buyers spread across central Queensland and to the south, with a strong Northern Rivers presence.
"[The top bull] was late in the catalogue, but the purchasers had him picked out right from the start, and he'll go up to breed in their program up there," Mr Ede said.
"He's a younger calf, but a wonderful calf, and I think we probably haven't seen the best of him yet."
- Selling agent: Nutrien, interfaced with AuctionsPlus
