Meandarra stud principals 'blown away' after 2026 sale averages $19,000

After setting a breed record last year, Elite Cattle Company, Meandarra, has set another record at their 2026 on-property sale on Thursday, September 3.

Selling all 53 Black Simmental and Sim-Angus bulls offered for a 100 per cent clearance, the stud achieved a $19,000 average for its ninth annual sale, its highest ever.

The top-priced lot, Elite Ventura, was purchased for $36,000 by Tom and Lizzy Baker, Woonallee Simmentals, Millicent, South Australia.

The 20-month-old, 854 kilogram bull was sired by Elite Platinum and out of Elite Flirtin With You P109.

He recorded an eye muscle area of 138 square centimetres, 12mm of rump fat, 9mm of rib fat, and 6.3pc of intramuscular fat.

It was the first time the South Australian stud had purchased an Elite Cattle Company bull.

The stud's 2025 sale set a breed record at the time for the top-priced Black Simmental bull, Elite Uproar, who had won the Urquhart Trophy for the supreme beef exhibit at the Sydney Royal Show earlier in the year.

Elite Uproar, the 2025 top-priced bull, sold for $67,500 to Victor and Hayley Sypher, Omega Brahman stud, Alpha.

Overall, all 49 bulls offered at the 2025 sale sold for a 100pc clearance, a $15,154 average, and a $742,546 gross.

At this year's sale, only two bulls sold for $10,000, with every other lot clearing $12,000 or higher.

Top-priced buyer Tom Baker, Woonallee Simmentals, Millicent, SA, said Elite Cattle Company had been long-time supporters of his stud, and that he wanted to return the favour by purchasing a bull that would appeal to northern clients.

On his Millicent stud, Mr Baker said he ran more than 800 registered cows over 3237 hectares (8000 acres).

"We sell probably 300 bulls a year at two sales - one in the south and one in the north," he said.

"Elite Cattle Company have been great supporters of us, and have bought a few bulls off us, so we thought it was a good opportunity to add one of theirs to what we're doing.

"I just thought he was the most balanced, most mobile, and most appealing bull for what we are looking for.

"We've been selling lots of bulls into the north of Australia, so we're really keen to get something that can get its head up, travel, and has got enough frame and scope about it."

Once he gets the bull down south, Mr Baker said he planned to turn it out for stud duties.

"We've got a spring mating program, so at the end of November he'll go straight out with a mob of cows we'll select, and we'll get him into the program straight away," he said.

Elite Cattle Company co-stud principal Glen Waldron said he was blown away by the result the stud had achieved.

"Words can't describe it. It's unreal, it's a bit surreal, it hasn't sunk in yet," he said after bidding had concluded. "That's our highest average and highest gross ever."

2026 Elite Cattle Company Black Simmental and Sim-Angus sale

Pictures by Neave Duff.

Addressing attendees before the sale, Mr Waldron said this year's sale drop was the most consistent the stud had produced.

Speaking to Queensland Country Life post-sale, he said the consistency of the sale offering was proven by the day's result.

"You could see that today as I think the cheapest bull was $10,000, and it topped at $36,000, but a lot of bulls made $18,000-$22,000. It was very, very consistent," he said.

"If we could have a group of sale bulls that could look like this every year, we'd be over the moon."

Of the top-priced lot, Mr Waldron said he believed he stood out to buyers for his growth.

"The guys that bought him, we've been in contact with them, and he's out of an exceptionally good cow, and he had two full ET brothers that were very good bulls in the sale as well," he said.

"I think the consistency and type of him and his siblings, and out of one of our best donor cows, probably led to the stud people who bought him purchasing that bull."

Bulls this year sold from SA to as far north as Cloncurry to both new and return clients.

"A lot went into central Queensland, and then some regular guys in Casino bought a few bulls again this year, so it's a fair spread," Mr Waldron said.

"Definitely a lot of repeat clients, which is very satisfying. Obviously a bull has got to be doing its job for people to come back, which I think is the most rewarding part for Kim and I."

Bulk buyers at this year's sale, Williams Family Pastoral, Silverridge, Banana, JMC Grazing Pty Ltd, Letterkenny, Morven, and Rowe Cattle Company, Buffel Park, Moranbah, all purchased four head each for an average of $19,250, $18,000, and $17,500 respectively.

• Selling agents: GDL interfaced with Stocklive