Keen local and interstate buying underpinned a small winter quality yarding of store cattle at Colac, Vic on Friday to open selling for the new financial year.
Steers were sparingly supplied in the reduced 400-head penning, making to $1540 a head while a larger than normal supply of calved cows made $1600- $2380 per outfit to gain good interest on the day.
Offering a reduced penning of 400 head, the local inquiry focused on the purchase of the longer term lighter cattle while the away competition focused on the shorter-term finisher lots but due the lack of numbers only managed part loads.
Nonetheless prices were once again significantly higher than the centre’s month earlier market as buyers coughed up the higher values witnessed at other recent district markets.
A pen of 478kg Charolais steers offered by D&M Edgerton kicked off the sale. These were sold for $1540 a head to SA agency, Ray White Keatley, Mount Gambier with the same buyer snaring three more yards of Charolais steers these all offered by Mt William Partnership.
The first pen of the Mt William Charolais steers, 410kg made $1320, the second, 356kg made $1340 and the third, 294kg made $1070.
A yard of nine Murray Grey steers, 350kg made $1110 for Selection selling to local buyer Alister Nelson while a second pen of Murray Grey steers, 302kg were truck-fillers for the RWK Mt Gambier order at $1110.
All remaining lots in the 202-head steer yarding were sold unweighed with the best of these sold at $1050 a head for yard of 20 Murray Grey, 9-10 months and estimated at 250kg.
A small selection of crossbred and dairy bred steers made $440 to $760 and included three pens of bucket-reared Friesians sold to $580 for GV & CV Beasley.
Only a handful of lots were sold weighed In the heifer section. The top prices were 10 Charolais, 407kg that made $1310 a head for D&M Edgerton while two small pens of Mt William Partnership Charolais heifers made $1000-$1210 selling to a restocker from the Goulburn Valley.
Other small mixed and unweighed sales made $650-$900 a head.
Sales of breeding stock were dominated by cow/calf outfits and highlighted by the end of lease dispersal of the Rockgrove Angus herd of 3rd to 5th calvers, re-depastured to Angus bulls.
Those with March to May-born Mt William Charolais calves at foot made $1875 to $1990 while those with April to June-born Weeran Angus calves made $1590-$1700.
A market top of $2300 a head however was paid for a pen of Murray Grey-cross cows with solid Belgium Blue calves at foot, while other crossbred and beef cows with calves made $1600- $1930.
