How much should you pay for a good bull?

There are experts who will give you advice on almost anything in the cattle business — what to feed, when to vaccinate, where to sell, who to hire.

But ask them how much you should spend for a bull, and it gets quiet. I asked it of some smart people recently and heard, “Good question; wish I knew the answer.”

A few old rules of thumb were mentioned. One is that a bull should be worth two-and-a-half times a finished steer. At today’s market, the steer is worth almost $2,000, so a bull would be worth $5,000. 

Another thumb rule says a bull is worth five times the price of a steer calf. Do that math, and you arrive at about the same number for the bull: $5,000.

As it turns out, that number comes close to current real-world values. I looked up recent auction sales for breeding bulls by purebred cattle breeders. All sales were in the first few weeks of 2022, from North Dakota to Alabama, from Angus to Simmental, and from just 20 bulls on the smallest purebred ranch to 250 bulls at the other end.

The average price for young bulls varied from $3,216 on an Oklahoma ranch to $8,500 in Nebraska. The average of the averages was $5,707 per bull. Throw out the few elite sales to other purebred breeders, which skews the average upward, and you get an average for just commercial bulls of about $5,000.

Of course, that doesn’t consider your particular ranch needs, nor the specific details in a bull’s pedigree. But still, in some cases, old rules of thumb still work and at least give a starting point.

Five purebred cattle breeders weigh in

Here’s what a few of the purebred cattle breeders told me about their bull sales.

Justin Hart, Hart Simmentals, Frederick, South Dakota. 80 Simmental bulls at the winter sale averaged $6,117, or $2,000 above the year before.

“To be honest, I can’t tell you exactly what’s going on,” he says. “The calf markets are a little better this year, as are crops. I also think I had a little better product to offer.

“I have bought bulls that I considered cheap, and sometimes they’ve done me a lot better than some expensive bull,” says Hart. “It can work out that way. There’s no easy answer on how much to spend.”

Jake Scott, Krebs Ranch, Gordon, Nebraska.

The ranch recently sold 250 Angus bulls for an average of $7,500, up a little from a year ago.

“In places where farmers have some money to spend, there’s not a lot to spend it on now,” says Scott. “You can’t buy a tractor, you can’t buy a planter, you can’t buy a pickup. But you can buy a bull, so they’re spending a little more on him. That sounds strange, but it’s the practical truth.”

Riley Schriefer, Schriefer Red Angus, Golden Valley, North Dakota.

At the recent Schriefer sale, 27 Red Angus bulls averaged $5,780, about $1,300 higher than a year ago.

“When you think you know which way the bull market will go, it does just the opposite,” Schriefer says. The surprise to him is that the bump up in bulls comes despite a lingering drought in the Plains causing cattle sell-offs.

“Some of our customers sold their bulls last year so they wouldn’t have to feed them through the winter. Now they’re replacing them,” he says.

Regarding the value of a bull, Schriefer says, “What a bull brings at auction is exactly what someone thinks he’s worth. That’s how it should be.”

Jerry Delaney, Delaney Herefords, Lake Benton, Minnesota.

At the farm’s recent sale, 37 Hereford bulls averaged $7,100, more than $3,000 over the prior year. 

“I think we offered a little better quality of cattle this year, and maybe it helped to have some better COVID news, too. Plus, people have a little more money jingling in their pockets,” says Delaney.

“The only thing I tell people is that the quickest way to improve a cow herd is with the right bull. He’s the biggest influence on your future.”

Jason Hoffman, Hoffman Ranch, Thedford, Nebraska.

This ranch sells Hereford, Angus, and a few Sim-Angus bulls. At a recent sale, 172 Herefords averaged $8,500, up significantly over a year ago.

“There’s just more optimism today,” Hoffman says. “Beef demand is very strong. The bull market says people expect this to get even better. I never tell someone what they ought to pay for a bull. Some of our buyers have an upper limit and they won’t go above it. That’s their call. My job is to find them a bull they can afford.”