THERE were 23,802 stud and commercial herd bulls sold under the hammer at auctions across Australia this year among the ten largest beef breeds listed in Beef Central’s 2025 annual bull sales summary.
Numbers were down 887 head or 3.6 percent on the previous year across the same ten breeds, following a gradual decline in numbers sold since our 2022 report, when almost 2300 more bulls were sold.
Our 2025 bull sales report includes this summary of numbers of bulls sold and clearance rates, nationally, and a separate article published today discussing average prices paid.
Numbers of bulls sold this year were impacted in the southern Australian cattle regions, particularly, due to drought-driven herd reductions. In both 2021 and 2022 bull sale numbers were influenced by national herd rebuilding, as the industry recovered after two drought years (2019 across most of eastern Australia, and extending well into 2020 in more northern regions). As breeder paddocks repopulated, more bulls were required in those years, as a lot of older herd bulls were also liquidated during the drought.
That cycle is now complete, and bull requirements are now back in equilibrium with breeder numbers, explaining the small retraction this year and last.
Another factor in declining auction sales of stud and herd bulls is the growing use of contract bull breeding, which is gaining in popularity but difficult to quantify.
* Results compiled by Beef Central. ** Multi-breed sales excluded
For auction results listed in the table above, Angus remains clearly the dominant breed involved in Australian beef production, with 11,328 bulls sold at auction this year, or 47.6pc of the total.
There were 216 Angus bull sales held across Australia from January to November this year, up from 196 last year, but not quite a record.
Next largest breed by auction numbers sold this year was Santa Gertrudis with 2290, up another 267 bulls on last year, followed by Brahmans with 1850 bulls sold, Herefords with 1780 and Charolais with 1776.
Most breeds recorded fewer numbers sold this year than last, with the exception of Brangus (+110 bulls, selling 1017) and Santas (+267 bulls). Other breeds saw numbers sold decline by as much as 29pc.
Not all breeds were able to provide clearance rates (bulls sold versus bulls offered), but for those that did, the trend compared with last year was a little higher – even where the numbers offered has grown.
Best performers for clearance were Santa Gertrudis and Charolais, both on 92pc, followed by Simmental and Droughtmaster on 89-90pc. Other breeds ranged from 72pc to 86pc.
At the peak of the post-drought bull demand period back in 2022, clearance rates among the ten largest breeds hit record highs, ranging from a ‘low-point’ of 88pc to an extraordinary (perhaps unprecedented) 100pc, for Wagyu.
Trade-in value
Another factor this year has been the solid returns for manufacturing type animals (cows and bulls) suitable for grinding beef and further processing.
That’s being driven by insatiable international demand from export markets like the US, China and Japan (see yesterdays report on record 2025 export beef sales).
Over the past few weeks, heavy bulls have been making 400c/kg and as high as 420c/kg liveweight at Roma store sales, valuing a 900kg cull bull currently at around $3600. That’s given beef producers a healthy financial starting point when going into the market for replacements in the bull selling season just completed. This time two years ago, those same bulls were making only 220-240c/kg, valuing them at only $1800-$2200.
As noted in Beef Central’s previous annual bull sale statistical summaries, caution should be shown in making direct breed ‘comparisons’ over numbers of bulls sold, as any sort of benchmark of breed popularity.
Large tropical breeds like Brahmans and Droughtmasters continue to sell the majority of bulls privately via the paddock, rather than via the auction ring, making any sort of accurate assessment of total bulls used impossible.
The same applies with Wagyu. There’s been a sharp rise in popularity of auction selling to market Wagyu bulls over the past year or two (see earlier Beef Central story), however the overwhelming majority of Wagyu bulls used across Australia continue to be sourced out of the paddock, under private deals.
2025 Autumn bull selling season call to action for studmasters
Bull breeders wishing to promote their Autumn 2025 bull sales via ads on Beef Central’s genetics pages, daily email alert or home page early next year should contact Nikki Nason via nikki@beefcentral.com phone 0448 630047. Available ad spaces are starting to fill up, so we recommend making contact early to avoid disappointment.
Soon after New Year, work will also start on compiling our full list of 2025 Upcoming Autumn Bull Sales, appearing as a searchable list in Beef Central’s genetics section. We remind studmasters to submit their 2025 autumn sale dates early next year (via this form), if they are not already provided by respective breed societies.