A drier-than-average winter in the South East was tipped to have a negative effect on prices at last Friday's Mount Gambier Combined Agents monthly store sale.
But instead of the expected decline, prices held up well and were firm to stronger over all classes in a modest yarding comprising 1585 head of locally-bred cattle.
O'Connor & Graney Mount Gambier agent Ben Jones said the steady increase in cattle prices over the past few months could be attributed simply to supply and demand.
"With the national herd level at a low and good rains in the north of the country, supply just can't keep up to demand," he said.
"It's a perfect storm for producers and I think the cattle job will be good for some time to come.
"Feedlotters and backgrounders found buying conditions extremely tough today, with prices up around 10 cents a kilogram to 15c/kg from last month's highs".
Heavy Angus steers 450kg-plus sold from $3.84/kg to $4.23/kg; coloured steers 450kg-plus sold from $3.83-$3.97/kg; Angus steers 360-450kg made $4.06-$4.27/kg; coloured steers 360-450kg sold from $3.86-$4.34/kg.
Angus steers 320-360kg sold from $4.01-$4.59/kg, coloured steers in the same weight range made $3.41-$4.16/kg.
Lighter Angus steers 280-320kg sold from $4.63-$4.91/kg, coloured steers in this weight range made $4.05-$4.24/kg; Angus steers under 280kg sold from $4.09-$5.02/kg, coloured steers from $4.45-$4.67/kg.
Returning the sale's top dollars-per-head was Invalock, Penola, who sold 18 European Union- accredited and Pasturefed Certified Assurance Scheme-eligible March/April 2019-drop Angus steers, averaging 488kg, at $2030 or $4.16/kg to Thomas Foods International.
Still Water, Penola, sold 10 Angus steers av 524kg at $2010 or $3.84/kg to Teys Australia, as well as a draft of 13 Te Mania-blood Charolais/Shorthorn steers av 447kg at $1850 or $4.14/kg to TFI and 11 Hereford steers, av 378kg at 12-13mo, at $1600 or $4.23/kg going to Garrison Feedlot.
S&K Higgs, Nene Valley, sold 14 Stoney Point Angus steers, av 225kg at 6-8mo, at $1130 - equating to $5.02/kg to Green Triangle Livestock, Mount Gambier.
Pascoe Park, Mount Gambier, sold 14 Weeran-bld Angus steers, av 473kg at 15-17mo, at $2000 or $4.23/kg to Teys Australia.
Willowbank, Millicent, sold 10 PCAS-eligible Angus steers, av 320kg at 9-10mo, at $1470 or $4.59/kg and a second draft of 20 Angus steers av 272kg at $1360 or $5/kg to Miller Whan & John on behalf of account Lindsay.
Wannon Pastoral, Vic, sold 23 PCAS-eligible Angus steers av 280kg at $1330 or $4.75/kg to MWJ again for Lindsay, while a heavier draft at 336kg sold to Tom Mulraney, GTL, at $1460 or $4.35/kg.
RELATED READING: August sale - Mount Gambier steers peak at $1900
Jarrup, Digby, Vic, sold 29 PCAS-eligible 10-12mo Angus steers av $1440. Their top draft av 374kg sold to Garrison at $1580 or $4.22/kg.
MWJ bought 20 Lawson-blood Angus steers av 313kg at $1450 or $4.63/kg and a lighter draft av 281kg at $1380 or $4.91/kg, from K&K Lock, Kalangadoo.
Glencairn, Casterton, Vic, sold 9 PCAS-eligible Angus-cross steers, av 278kg at 10-12mo, at $1290 or $4.64/kg to Elders Geelong.
They also sold 23 PCAS-eligible Yarram Park-bld Hereford steers av 272kg at $1210 or $4.45/kg to Pinkerton Palm Hamlyn & Steen and a second draft of 20 Herefords av 227kg to Creek Livestock at $1060 or $4.67/kg.
McCourt Cattle Co, Woakwine, Thornlea, bought 31 PCAS-eligible Angus steers at weights from 320-360kg, including five steers av 329kg at $1380 or $4.19/kg from Benara Pastoral, Mount Gambier.
Glenfruin Pastoral, Tintinara, sold 10 PCAS-eligible Shorthorn steers av 499kg at $1910 or $3.83/kg and a second draft of 14 Shorthorn steers av 406kg at $1600 or $3.94/kg to J&F Australia.
FW Uphill, Kongorong, sold 46 Shorthorn and Shorthorn/Hereford steers, 294-422kg, at an av $1535. A draft of 10 av 371kg made $1560 or $4.20/kg, sold to Garrison.
Caroline Hills, Mount Gambier, sold eight Lindsay-bld Murray Grey steers, av 278kg at 10-12mo, at $1265 or $4.53/kg to Nutrien Ag's Jeff Olafson.
The market was very, very strong and was up as much as $100 a head on last month.
- GARTH MANSER
THERE was a "great run of quality heifers from start to finish" at the Mount Gambier store sale on Friday, according to Garth Manser, Green Triangle Livestock, Mount Gambier.
"From the Angus run right through to the coloured heifers, the market was very, very strong and was up as much as $100 a head on last month," he said.
Heavy heifers, weighing 360 kilograms to 450kg, made $3.31-$4.11/kg; 320-360kg heifers made $3.96-$4.23/kg; 280-320kg heifers sold from $3.81-$4.16/kg; while heifers under 280kg made $3.56-$4.32/kg.
Still Water, Penola, sold 17 Te Mania-blood Charolais/Shorthorn heifers averaging 423kg at the top dollar-per-head money at $1740 or $4.11/kg to Garrison Feedlot.
Tulochgrue Partnership, Heywood, Vic, sold 56 PCAS-eligible Angus-cross heifers, weighing 328-358kg at 12-14 months, at an av of $1423. A draft of 21 weighing 328kg sold to Miller Whan & John for account Lindsay at $1420 or $4.33/kg.
SK Higgs, Nene Valley, sold 15 PCAS-eligible Stoney Point-blood Angus heifers, av 213kg at 6-8mo, at $920 or $4.32/kg to T Gray, Millicent.
Kyama, Strathdownie, Vic, sold 17 Angus-cross heifers, av 186kg at 10mo, at $800 or $4.30/kg to MWJ.
Glencairn, Casterton, Vic, sold 86 PCAS-eligible Melville and Yarram Park-bld Hereford heifers, 199-311kg for an av of $1082. Creek Livestock, Mount Gambier, bought a draft of 24 av 293kg at $1220 or $4.16/kg .
Cows and calves sold to $1940 for 10 Murray Grey second calvers, not rejoined, with 10 Murray Grey calves at-foot, from JF&FM Ashby, Kongorong, to Thomas DeGaris Clarkson, who also bought 10 mixed-age Hereford second to fourth calvers with 10 Hereford CAF at $1425 from Verona, Dismal Swamp.
Pregnancy-tested in-calf females sold to increased demand, with 15 EU-accredited Angus heifers, PTIC to Pathfinder bulls, sold by JD&JM Skeer, Penola, making $1620 to TFI.
SS&JA Robertson sold 12 Red Angus-cross heifers PTIC to Pathfinder Angus bulls at $1440 to O'Connor Graney and Murray Grey-cross heifers PTIC to Pathfinder Angus bulls at $1320 to Garrison.
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