Corcoran Parker, Elders and Landmark offered a larger than expected offering of just over 1400 cattle for their regular Wodonga store cattle sale on Thursday, August 6.
Many lines of breeders' cattle filled the selling pens with a large percentage of the yarding being steers and heifers weighing between 200 and 320 kilograms liveweight.
For this reason it was surprising to hear the sale totalled nearly $4 million, and the very strong competition created an average price for the yarding of $907 per head. One reason for this was stronger interaction from producers who bid strongly against the regular competition for feeder steers and heifers.
It is fair to say that hardly a steer sold below the equivalent liveweight price of 300c with most making between 330-380c/kg lwt. This is an open auction sale, and most steers sold between $800 and the sales top price of $1500. Included in the sale were several drafts of young steers of very light weights, and these sold from $585-$800.
There were many notable sales of steers throughout the whole market. Some quotes of the heavier steers, 320-407kg lwt, were Youngs Cap Pastoral, Bonnie Doon, 86 Angus steers, 12-14 months, Anvil blood, which sold from $1050-$1400. Mintor LLC, Table Top, sold 49 Angus steers, 9-10 months, from $1035-$1070, and S&E Cleal, Killawarra, 33 Angus steers, 11-12 months, from $1120-$1200. Kensal Green Beef, Bungowannah, NSW, sold 54 Angus-Hereford and Hereford steers, 317-323kg, from $1050-$1080.
Steers of lighter weights, mostly 200-300kg lwt sold to even stronger competition with buyers trying to secure numbers for backgrounding and grass fattening. A good example was the 86 Shorthorn and Hereford steers sold by RJ&AH Rollinson, Goolgumbla, Jerilderie, NSW, who sold 44 steers over 300kg from $1020-$1250, and 42 steers, 233-272kg lwt, from $720-$870.
The selling agents changed the sale order to sell cows and calves, and joined females first. Woolamia Pastoral Co, Springfield, sold 39 Angus heifers, Werran blood and re-depastured to Werran bulls with CAF 5 months. These outfits were in very good condition and sold very well making from $1820-$2200. Other cows and calves sold mostly between $1480-$1900.
Hillgrove Star, Hillgrove, Bungowannah, NSW, sold 94 Angus heifers to cows, PTIC for fifth and sixth calf by Banquet bulls. These would commence calving late August, and sold from $1020-$1400.
Demand for unjoined heifers was equally as strong as that for their brothers earlier in the morning. Feedlots were the main competitors, but there was stronger competition from producers too. The Follett family, Gembrae, sold 76 yearling Angus heifers from their Finley, NSW, property, 314-352kg lwt, from $1000-$1170, to Thomas Foods International.
Many heifers sold between $800-$1170.
Many of the heifers were only light weights, and sold mostly from $585-$770. Dromore Nominees, T/A Glenalbyn Properties, Wilcannia, NSW, sold 41 light weight Shorthorn heifers, EU accredited, Spry's bld, from $645-$665 with a pen of 11 heifers, 349kg, for $960. Brinbook Pastoral sold 113 Charolais-Angus heifers, which were very young and of very light weight, from $585-$670.
