Montana bull sold at auction for $350K

HELENA, Mont. – A Montana bull has sold for $350,000 at auction.

The Black Angus known as HA Cowboy Up came from a ranch near Malta and was sold Tuesday to the owners of N Bar Ranch southeast of Lewistown.

Observers say it is the highest price paid for a bull in memory, and possibly the highest in the state’s history.

Cowboy Up weighed more than 1,600 pounds in January. Its medium frame and the rate at which it gained weight made him attractive to buyers.

The medium frame is important because smaller calves are easier to give birth to. The bull gained 4.25 pounds a day on average through the first year of his life.

The bull was transported to a facility near Billings where his semen will be collected and sold to produce future offspring.