Bairnsdale
Yarding 1540
Steers to $1470
Heifers to $1080
Joined females to $1562
Cows and calves to $1750
EAST Gippsland’s excellent season continues with overnight rain continuing into Friday’s Bairnsdale store cattle sale.
A high quality offering, which included some very good drafts of yearling steers and heifers, sold to limited feedlot competition with only Thomas Foods (TFI) and Garrison feedlot purchasing feeder steers and heifers.
The balance of the yarding sold to Gippsland buyers, but price levels remained at high levels with the quality seeing many steers ell between $920 and $1470. This top price was achieved for one of tow pens of yearling steers offered by CW Scott & Co. Their top pen were Angus steers weighing 492 kilograms liveweight, and their Hereford steers, 472kg, sold for $1380.
Despite the dry conditions in West and South Gippsland, bullock fatteners competed against TFI for the better weighted Angus steers.
Some of the standout sales were KH&WR Ingram, Bonang, who sold 108 Angus, Hereford and Angus-Hereford steers, weighing 332-426kg lwt. These sold from $1010-$1350 to average a very healthy $1164. In liveweight price terms they equalled 298-341c/kg, which displayed the general trend for all steers on the day.
MT Mitchell sold 11 Limousin-cross steers for $1270, and PG&BK Pallot, Benambra, eight Angus-Hereford steers for $1250.
Competition was solid for a large run of steers weighing 320-390kg lwt, which saw many sell for $830-$1160. Omeo Pastoral Co, Omeo, sold 40 Hereford and Shorthorn-Hereford steers from $920-$1150.
J Hayward & Partners, Ensay, a regular seller at this time of year, offered 73 Hereford and Shorthorn-Hereford steers of varying weights. Selling between $830-$1110, saw then equal lwt prices from 281-just over 300c/kg.
Most of the sale commanded the traditional Angus and Hereford breeds and their crosses. However, D Fraser sold 10 Charolais steers, 356kg, for $1100, and M Sellings, 13 young Limousin steers for $830.
Coming out of the mountains was 146 young Hereford steers of RM Treasure. Two pens had weights displayed of 270 and 290kgs lwt, selling from $820-$850, the balance sold from $470-$880 with a single steers making $990.
Wyben Station, Buchan, sold 40 younger Hereford and Angus-Hereford calves, which sold from $650-$880.
Heifers saw quite solid competition with feedlot orders, and backgrounders of lighter weight heifers active throughout.
Yearling heifers sold to feedlot buyers, TFI and Garrison, making from $1010-$1080, although there were few pens of these heifers available. MT&RR Mitchell sold six Angus-European cross heifers for $1080, and EM Higgins, 10 Angus-Hereford heifers for $1010.
Comparing the supply of heifers to steers, saw only 20pc of the yarding being heifers, and many were young and lighter weight calves. Some processing competition prevailed for unweaned heifer calves, while a range of younger and slightly older heifers were purchased for grain feeding, and backgrounding for future feeding.
A good example of these heifers were sold by RM Treasure, offering 79 Hereford heifers, which sold from $435-$760. CB&DD Scott sold 46 Angus and Angus-Hereford heifers from $680-$730.
Top of these younger calves was RD&M Rogers selling nine Angus heifers for $895. Liveweight prices for heifers were estimated to range from 275-295c/kg for most with isolated sales over 300c/kg lwt.
Tambo Bay, Metung, sold 14 Angus cows, PTIC to Hazeldean Angus bulls for calving May onward. These sold from $1460-$1562 after some lengthy bidding.
Bambanoo offered the best of the small selection of cows and calves. Its nine Angus cows with CAF 6-7 months, sold for $1750.
Look forward to Landmark EGL’s special autumn sale this Friday, April 29, where approximately 1800 quality cattle will be offered.
