THERE are few things that infuriate livestock dealers more than having their normal buying venue infiltrated by foreigners.
The problem was highlighted at Dublin cattle market on Monday when a good selection of well-bred pastoral calves were offered.
It appeared to be a great opportunity for many seasoned and aspiring traders - until the start of selling, when a buyer from Lucindale entered the fray.
There's no doubt that those South East fellows are fearless when seeking suitable cattle to feed.
The ferocity of bidding at all annual weaner sales throughout the SE and Western Districts of Vic is a testament to the strange symptoms of 'grass fever'.
It is a similar affliction to the 'diesel fever' that is prevalent throughout the agricultural regions of Australia at this time of year, and despite the massive funding thrown at these pursuits, there seems little hope of a cure.
The beneficiaries of the desire by graziers with feed to buy are - of course - those graziers who do not have feed.
I have not had the opportunity to head north recently but there must be areas north of Hawker where feed is becoming a rare commodity.
Over the past three weeks there has been a flood of lightweight cattle and calves in the market.
While most of us luxuriate in the knowledge that the start of autumn and winter has been nicely damp, there are others who are facing the grim reality of selling cattle at a fraction of their value.
It is hard to imagine the feelings of some graziers when confronted by the knowledge that there are yearling steers in the market realising more than $1000, while they are having to offload calves and weaners.
The only upside is that these calves and weaners are fetching reasonable prices a kilogram even if the dollars a head values are slim.
Hundreds of lightweight cattle were offered on Monday, they went mostly to Lucindale and generally returned $2/kg to $2.30/kg for heifers and up to $2.70/kg for steers.
Sadly, few of these weighed any more than 220kg.
They had a lot going for them - they were good Poll Herefords or Angus-crosses and despite showing some signs of the poor season, still had a degree of freshness about them.
The 300-plus calves in the calf market were of a similar description and buyers lined-up to share the spoils.
Unfortunately - or fortunately, depending on your point of view - there was little sharing done.
Competition was stiff and prices rocketed upward.
For many, what appeared to be an opportunity to make a quid turned into an ego-driven fight to acquire some numbers - again a great thing for the vendors.
The profit margin on these calves should not be a problem for good feeder buyers.
Prices for prime cattle do not look like subsiding anytime soon and according to the data about the export slaughter, this situation will continue into the foreseeable future.
We should really be thankful that store cattle are so dear.
I would like to think that you would at least double your money, on a cattle investment in about six months, so if a store steer costs $500 and you double your money you make $500.
If stores cost $200 and you double your money you only make $200, so to get the same result you would have to feed 2.5 times more cattle.
So, here is the theory: spend up big on stores - the more you spend the more you make!
