AS the cattle industry prepares for one of its peak selling periods in April, swirling concern about reduced stock availability has already begun to dampen hopes for competitive trade.
Returns for cattle in the past 18 months have been booming and despite this not showing any sign of slowing in the immediate future, the writing is on the wall for supply, according to SA stock agents.
The states major selling centres have recorded some of the most "erratic" yardings, with numbers peaking considerably in some weeks, only to fall to dismal levels at the following market.
Pro-Stock Livestock's Clint Endersby operates the Southern Livestock Exchange at Mount Compass and said a lot of southern stock had already been sold.
"It has been a good season and cattle came up to weight. So combined with such high prices, producers definitely decided to sell a few months earlier rather than wait until April," he said.
"The cattle all came at once - rather than draft into weights for staggered selling, so we are expecting numbers to be back considerably."
About 1000 cattle were yarded this week at Mt Compass, with numbers expected to drop by about 200-300 head in the coming weeks.
Last week at Mount Gambier's market, a smaller yarding of 767 head were penned, some 496 less than the week before.
At the beginning of December, the saleyard reached 1500 cattle but it withered away to 586 by mid January.
SA Livestock Exchange at Dublin had some of the greatest fluctuation in stock numbers - with yardings dropping to just 80 head in January, despite a solid run to the end of the year.
Throughout most of February, it reached about 400 head but this week, Dublin dropped down to just a couple of hundred cattle.
Numbers at Naracoorte Regional Livestock Exchange have been consistent since the back end of last year according to PPH&S agent Jason Mahney, with about 5500 steers and heifers yarded at today's market.
"This week's yarding is really up considering the lack of numbers down here at the moment," he said.
"It is unknown how many cattle are left out there and whether or not they will come into the system. Time will tell."
Mr Mahney said a lull in supply would be likely before more cattle would come onto the market - given most had already been sold.
"Most people took the early money."
CATTLE HIT YARDS FOR EARLY GAIN
GETTING a '"feel" for the cattle market is not an easy task for producers looking to buy or sell, with erratic yardings and price fluctuations causing many to watch it unfold behind the rails before making decisions.
In the past few weeks, Mount Torrens cattle producer Amelia Ramsey has been keeping her eye on the overall cattle trade picture to pinpoint solid yardings and when it was most economical to buy in steers.
"We have been attending markets for a few weeks to get a feel for what is going on. Some weeks, cattle numbers have been so low that prices have been higher than what we expected," she said.
The young jillaroo had been working on cattle stations in Qld but came home to the family property to help source cattle, only to to find SA saleyards looking a "bit different" compared to up north.
"The market is fluctuating. The yarding at Dublin was low this week but it was double last week - so it seems like it will be hit and miss for a while," Ms Ramsey said.
"We are trying to replace steers after selling at the end of last year - -I will come back next week and see if there are a few more cattle around."
At the other end of the trade scale, Currency Creek producers Suzanne and Donald Galpin run a commercial Poll Hereford operation and sold this year's steers early, to take advantage of prices.
"We are selling early - dare I say it - we are selling now because the prices are so good," Mr Galpin said.
It seems a potential lull in supply during one of the sector's historically flourishing selling periods could eventuate if producers follow suit and sell cattle early.
"We are selling earlier, not in April, because of returns and who knows if prices are going to stay the same," Mr Galpin said.
"You'd have to think there will be less cattle coming onto the market as the year progresses because there's been a hell of a number sold in the past three or four months."
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Vanessa Binks
I am the Markets Editor and journalist at the Stock Journal. I am based at Nuriootpa in SA's lower north.
I am the Markets Editor and journalist at the Stock Journal. I am based at Nuriootpa in SA's lower north.
