A welcome hike in prices at last Friday's Mount Gambier Combined Agents monthly store market showed significant gains across all classes of cattle in a huge yarding of more than 4000 head, making the downturn of late 2023 a distant memory.
Angus steers 450 kilograms-plus sold from $3.20/kg to $3.53/kg; heavy coloured steers in the same range made from $2.59-$2.99/kg consistently selling upwards of $2.80/kg.
Once again, Angus steers 360-450kg made up the bulk of the yarding, selling from as low of $3-$3.70/kg; coloured steers 360-450kg made $2.77-$3.08/kg.
Mediumweight Angus steers 320-360kg sold from $3.10-$3.99/kg; while coloured steers in the same weight range made $2.95-$3.32/kg.
Angus steers 280-320kg made from a low of $2.94-$3.81/kg, prices mainly making in excess of $3.40; and coloured steers of the same weights ranged from $2.80-$3.15/kg.
Lighter Angus steers under 280kg made from $2.78-$3.96/kg, with coloured steers of the same weight, selling to $2.67/kg.
Creek Livestock were out of the blocks early, buying three of the first four pens of black steers.
Scott Creek won the bid on the opening pen, paying the top dollars a head price of $1860 or $3.30/kg for a draft of 16 Angus steers. The Pasturefed Cattle Assurance Scheme-eligible steers, 18-months old to 20mo, with an average weight of 564kg, were sold a/c CG&SM Rentsch, Dartmoor, Vic.
Another eight, 557kg, 12-14mo, PCAS Angus steers made $1840 or $3.30/kg sold a/c A Kain, Nelson, to Creek Livestock, which also bought Ms Kain's lighter draft at 400kg, selling at $1220 or $3.05/kg.
With a focus also on heavier Angus steers 380-450kg+, Thomas Foods Australia took the competition right up to other contenders, paying $1800 or $3.46/kg for a draft of 22, 520kg Angus steers, sold a/c CD Mulraney, Mount Gambier, and also bought a draft of 18, 462kg, 16mo, PCAS, Toora West and Pathfinder-blood Angus at $1630 or $3.53/kg, sold a/c Amaroo, Hamilton, Vic.
Katanna, Blackfellows Caves, sold six, 499kg, 14-16mo Black Rock-bld Angus at $1680 or $3.37/kg to TFI.
David Eastick bought Katanna's younger draft of 395kg, 10mo Angus steers at $1460 or $3.70/kg.
ST&J Hawke, Glencoe, sold 79, 8-10mo PCAS Angus and Angus-cross steers, 333-426kg, for an average of $1385. The Hawke's top draft at 426kg sold at $1450 or $3.40 to Thomas Foods, while a lighter draft at 333kg sold to Mount Spencer at the top dollar/kg price of $3.99/kg or $1330.
Wannon Pastoral, Coleraine, Vic, sold 154, September-drop PCAS, Wannon-bld Angus steers, 182-239kg, for an average of $832. Thomas DeGaris & Clarkson bought a draft of 30 of the steers, av 217kg, at $860 or $3.96/kg while Greg McNamara, buying for Elders Finley, NSW, bought 90 of the Wannon Pastoral steers, paying to a top of $850 or $3.95/kg.
Mr McNamara - also buying for Elders Hay, NSW - paid $1150 or $3.81/kg for a draft of four, 302kg, March/April-drop PCAS Angus steers,sold a/c Ardrossan, Mount Gambier.
He also bought 18, 331kg Hereford steers at $1100, paying the top dollar/kg price of $3.32/kg for coloured steers, sold a/c Dunorer, Hotspur, Vic, as well as a draft of six, 298kg, 9-10mo PCAS Hereford steers at $940 or $3.15/kg, sold a/c Melecca Farms, Tarpeena.
KJ Upton, Chetwynd, Vic, sold 152 PCAS Boonaroo-bld Angus and Angus-cross steers, 276-396kg, for an average of $1265. Nutrien Millicent paid $1290 or $3.92/kg for a draft of 18 of the steers, av 329kg, while O'Connor & Graney bought 77 of the Upton steers, paying to a top of $1370 or $3.46/kg.
McKean McGregor, Bendigo, Vic, paid the top dollars a head price for coloured steers, paying $1490 or $2.85/kg for a draft of 14, 522kg, 20mo Morganvale-bld Hereford steers, sold a/c AB,BE&SD Feast, Port MacDonnell.
The Bendigo agents also paid $1460 or $2.91/kg for 20, 501kg, 20-21mo Taronga-bld Hereford steers, sold a/c Swan Lake, Heywood, Vic, as well as buying a lighter draft, av 461kg, from the same vendor at $1300 or $2.82/kg.
MH Burzacott & MD Emery, Robe, sold 11, 469kg PCAS February/March-drop Charolais-cross steers at $1400 or $2.99/kg to Woodwards. A lighter draft of the Burzacott/Emery steers, av 418kg, sold to BR&C, Swan Hill, Vic, at $1250 or $2.99/kg
Walkenny Park, Cape Bridgewater, sold 17, 386kg PCAS Banemore, Ardno and Bra-Ma-bld Hereford steers at $1190 or $3.08/kg to Midfields. Coola Station, German Creek, paid $1000 or $3.03/kg for lighter draft, av 330kg.
Nutrien Swan Hill bought 15, 314kg, 8-10mo Speckle Park steers at $880 or $2.80/kg, and a lighter draft, 270kg, at $720 or $2.67/kg, sold a/c RB Spehr, Allendale East.
A single offering of pregnancy-tested in-calf females, sold a/c Megaw Farms, Allendale, had seven February/March 2022-drop, Rennylea and Boonaroo-bld Angus heifers with one calf at-foot and the rest due to calve from mid February to April, sold to Miller Whan & John at $1740.
A very strong heifer sale showed the biggest jump in price from last month's sale.
A strong gallery of buyers looking to buy heifers particularly in the 300-360kg weight range to join or put out, consistently made $2.60-$3/kg. Lighter heifers also sold exceptionally well.
A limited number of heavy heifers weighing 450kg -plus returned prices ranging from $2.38 to $2.41/kg.
Heifers within the 360-450kg range sold at prices starting as low as $2.16-$2.96/kg, with the majority making upwards of $2.60.
Heifers in the 320-360kg weight range made from $2.27-$3.16/kg, with prices also consistently making from $2.60 into the lower $3.
Lighter weight heifers from 280-320kg sold down to $2.31 but predominantly made between $2.50-$3.17/kg and heifers under 280kg made from $2.21-$2.42/kg
Creek Livestock secured a notable draft of nine, 447kg, 14-16mo PCAS eligible Murray Grey-cross heifers.
Offered by Rees Rural Trading, Winnap, Vic, this draft made the highest dollars per head price at $1220 or $2.73/kg. Creek Livestock also secured 13, 389kg Angus-cross heifers at $1000 or $2.57 from the same vendor.
Sunray Pastoral ,Hatherleigh, sold 58, 8-10mo European Union-accredited and PCAS Woonallee-bld Simmental/Angus heifers, 390-441kg, for an average of $1150.
Creek Livestock paid $1220 or $2.77/kg for a draft of 15, 441kg, and Nampara Pastoral Co bought a lighter draft, 395kg, at $1170 or $2.96/kg.
Regular restockers were operating as normal, Miller Whan & John a/c Lindsay, bought heifers predominantly in the 320-400+kg range, including 16, 412kg Angus heifers at $1200 or $2.91/kg, sold a/c Garden Flat, Heywood, Vic; and 13, 284kg PCAS Angus heifers at $900 or $3.17/kg, sold a/c Stratman Farms.
Kintalpa Partnership, Kingston SE, sold 17, 306kg Granite Ridge-bld Angus heifers to Miller Whan & John, a/c Ogilvy, at $970 or $3.17/kg. The same vendor sold a draft of 34 of the Granite Ridge-bld heifers, 350kg, to Thomas DeGaris & Clarkson, a/c Mingbool Station, at $1100 or $3.14/kg.
Sheoak Island, Millicent, sold 14, 376kg, April/May-drop, PCAS, Boonaroo-bld Angus heifers to Creek Livestock at $1110 or $2.95/kg. A lighter draft, av 323kg, sold to Thomas DeGaris & Clarkson, a/c Mingbool Station, at $1020 or $3.16/kg.
Swan Lake, Heywood, sold six, 482kg, 20-21mo Shadwell Park-bld Angus-cross heifers at $1160 or $2.41/kg to Woodwards, and a draft of 20, 478kg, Taronga-bld Hereford heifers at $1140 or $2.38/kg to Miller Whan & John a/c Ogilvy.
Elders agent Ben Gregory said there were some strong results.
"We had a great run of high quality store cattle all the way through the sale today, from heavy feeder steers to a top run of medium feeder weight cattle and lighter spring drop steers," he said.
"Three or four feedlotters were actively chasing cattle in that 350-400kg range as well as the main run of weaners from 300-360kg, with local demand putting the floor in the job.
"Northern restockers showed up to compete on that mid range of cattle from 300-360kg and the lighter 300kg and under steers.
"All up it was a very good sale with a strong gallery of buyers coming from near and far to compete on a yarding of exceptional quality."
