Moongana Santa Gertrudis sale tops at $40,000 in triumphant return to Drillham

A move from central Queensland to Drillham paid off for the Moongana Santa Gertrudis stud on Thursday, September 10, with the stud achieving an impressive on-property sale result at Bethlee.

Of the 47 bulls offered, 36 sold for a 77 per cent clearance, a $15,583 average, and a $40,000 top.

Four heifer lots were offered at the sale, all of which sold for an average of $5250 and a top of $6000, which was achieved twice.

Overall, 45/51 lots sold for an 88pc clearance, a $13,644 average and a $614,000 gross.

This year's results were an improvement on all counts from last year's sale, where 33 of 51 bulls sold for a 65pc clearance, a $13,091 average, a $30,000 top, and a $432,003 gross.

The 2026 top price bull, Moongana Trousers 4210, was purchased by Peter and Pam Pullos, Killarney Park, Tambo.

The 25-month-old, 918 kilogram homozygous polled bull was sired by Brookside Sumo 3466 and out of Moongana 3533.

He recorded 14mm of rump fat, 10mm of rib fat, an eye muscle area of 127 square centimetres, and 5.7pc of intramuscular fat.

Mr Pullos said the bull's beautiful coat and colour caught his eye.

"His structural soundness, that's all it really is about," he said. "He's got good growth and good breeding."

Chasing bloodlines for their newly established Santa Gertrudis stud, Mr Pullos also purchased the top price bull at the Heartland Santa sale in Roma yesterday, but said he had purchased all the stud bulls he needed for now.

"We will go to sales around Blackall, to our local central west sales, but we won't be getting any more bulls now," he said.

Once the Pulloses get their bull home to Tambo, Mr Pullos said he would go out with first-calf heifers.

In addition to their top price lot, the Pulloses purchased an additional Moongana bull for $6000.

The two volume buyers of the sale, Hutchinson Ag, Moura, and Lansdowne Pastoral Company, Tambo, each purchased five head for an average of $13,600 and $15,200, respectively.

Moongana stud principal Cyril Gauld said he was pretty happy with the results the stud had achieved for its return to Drillham.

"It's the first sale back here, so we haven't got our same clients that we had before because we're selling in a different area. Although, some have followed us back here," he said. "I think we've got something to build on."

Mr Gauld said he chose to move the sale on-property due to the tick line.

"Selling in Rolleston, because we're in clean country and it's in ticky area, we'd truck the bulls up there and we'd have to clear them to get them out into the clean country, and we'd be carting bulls back and forth and treating them for ticks," he said. "Having the sale here, they can just leave and go into clean country or go into tick country without all the other hassle."

• Selling agents: GDL, CQ Livestock and Property, interfaced with Stocklive