STEPPING on to a plane, heading for Alice Springs, NT, on Wednesday last week, you could have been forgiven for thinking you were heading for some local yards, with the amount of SA agents and farmers also jetting off to the Red Centre.
Making the trek to the Bohning saleyards at Roe Creek, NT, is one of the highlights on the selling calendar.
While it was sensational to have some sun on the back for a few days, the dry conditions across most of Australia were evident in last week’s sale results.
At the 2017 sale there were a large contingent of buyers and onlookers from across Australia, including Qld and Tas.
This year, bidders from SA and Vic provided the lion’s share of the buying support.
I did run into one farmer from NSW, who was visiting the saleyards for the first time.
He said conditions were so grim back home, it was good to get away and see something new. Despite recent rains, he said conditions were so cold in his region it would take a while before there was any feed to speak of. These conditions, which many farmers are facing, reflected in the Roe Creek sale results.
Feeder steers met strong competition, selling to $2.89 a kilogram, but were still back on last year’s high of $3.40/kg.
But it was lighter cattle and heifers that really struggled.
Heifers sold to $2.33/kg, compared to last year’s $3.06/kg.
The lower prices were certainly not on the back of the quality of the yarding. Despite having a drier season in the NT, the vendors offered some outstanding lines.
Drawing plenty of comments in particular were the first pen from Undoolya Station, NT, 47 steers that sold to Teys Charlton, Vic, for $1155 or $2.71/kg. I heard a couple of people comment that you would be hard pressed to find better lines of Poll Herefords anywhere.
When, and if, another Roe Creek sale will be held in the coming months will rely on the agents getting together, but the decision will be dependent on whether there’s some general, widespread rains across much of the nation.
