Record Falls at Millah Murrah as Wyatt W50 Sells for $420,000
Millah Murrah Angus, based near Bathurst in the NSW Central Tablelands, has rewritten the record books after stud sire Millah Murrah Wyatt W50 sold for $420,000 at the stud’s annual spring sale on September 3rd, the highest price ever paid for a beef animal in Australia.
The result for Wyatt W50 eclipsed the previous bull record for the Angus breed and for all breeds combined, which stood at $360,000 and was set by Texas Thunderstruck T383 at the Texas Angus sale in July 2023. It also surpassed the national seedstock record of $400,000, which had stood since Wagyu donor heifer Sunnyside S0014 sold at the AWA Elite Wagyu Sale in Melbourne in May 2022.
Wyatt W50 was knocked down to a syndicate of Jason Little (and manager David Croker) of Gundungarra Angus, on the NSW Southern Tablelands, and Jeremy and Julie Schaw of JS Grazing in Injune, Queensland. Millah Murrah has retained a 20 per cent share in the bull and will work alongside the buyers to assist in managing what is already very strong demand for his semen. ABS Australia has been appointed as semen agent.
Auctioneer Paul Dooley described the atmosphere in the room as the bidding climbed to ABC News.
“You can hear the buzz in the crowd as the numbers go up,” he said. “It certainly speaks to the confidence in the cattle industry.” Millah Murrah stud principal Ross Thompson had no doubts about the bull’s quality. “I’ve never said that a bull is the best I’ve ever bred or anything like that, and I didn’t say it pre-sale, but the closer the sale got, I realised my reservations were only pre-sale jitters. When he sold, I just said from the rostrum that on balance, he was the best bull we’ve ever put forward for sale.”
Wyatt W50 weighed 834kg at 19 months of age and backed up his presence in the ring with figures to match. His EBVs included +10.4 for eye muscle area and +68 for carcase weight, +3 for intramuscular fat, along with growth figures of +95 for 400 day weight and +125 for 600 day weight.
Ross says the bull’s appeal lay in the breadth of his genetics, combining calving ease with strong weight gains, traits he said that both commercial and stud breeders are chasing.
His skin, head, structure and meat pattern are beautiful. And he also has a lot of genetic diversity.
“He’s got a really sensible data balance. Such a beautiful example of what we want from an Angus animal.”
Wyatt W50 was among the first sons offered by Millah Murrah Ulsterman U145, with his dam, Millah Murrah Kerry U68, tracing back to Millah Murrah Ricky R45. His full ET brother, MM Weston W20, also sold strongly for $120,000.
Wyatt W50 and Weston W20 were standouts on phenotype by 12 months old, when they were given names honouring Ross’ late father, Wyatt Weston Thompson. This added additional emotion during the bidding frenzy. “I did have my sunnies on, but apparently you could see the tears.”
With Millah Murrah retaining a 20% stake in Wyatt W50, semen sales are expected to become a significant part of the bull’s legacy. Ross said interest was already coming in from well beyond Australia, including New Zealand and the USA.
“He’s a multi-million semen selling bull in the making, if all the ‘ifs’ that go along with semen play out well.”
Owning an animal of such value is not without its pressures, but Ross has been pretty careful.
“I’ve got 250 high-quality semen straws stored, so if he drops dead tomorrow that semen would become extremely valuable.” Ross thinks that the fact that the bull had already been collected gave bidders more confidence.
The result comes at a time when 2026 had been tipped as a challenging season for selling bulls, following a period in which large numbers of cattle were sold out of northern NSW due to drought earlier in the year.
When asked to sum up what sort of impact a bull like Wyatt W50 could have on the wider beef industry, Ross had only one word for it…“Massive.”
The broader Millah Murrah sale reflected an incredible strength in their program, with all 121 bulls selling for an average of $37,578, among the highest averages recorded for any breed sale in Australian history.
Another standout bull in the sale was Woodruff W48, who was knocked down for $200,000 to a syndicate that includes Heart Angus, Shepwok Angus and Hallmark Genetics.
For the Angus breed, the headline remains Millah Murrah Wyatt W50, a bull that has not only reset the national price record, but has done so in a way that underscores the strength of Angus genetics on the world stage.
The spring sale season is far from over, with plenty of outstanding Angus bulls yet to be offered around Australia and New Zealand, available both through the auction ring and by private treaty.
Buyers looking for their next herd sire can find full catalogues for upcoming sales at angus.tech.
