What a hectic time it was for your correspondent this past week.
Some 1200 kilometers were traveled to attend four sales - three involved a total of 5300 cattle being sold plus a sheep yarding of 13,000 and all up these combined returned an estimated $10 million to supplying growers.
Along my path from Ballarat to Kyneton, Casterton to Hamilton and then north to Wycheproof (via Kerang and Swan Hill) and return to Ballarat there was not one patch of dried grass anywhere to be seen.
There were, however, plenty of rough broken roads badly in need of repair along the way and numerous grass paddocks and crops cut for hay, with a surprising number of disabled farm machinery, tractors and trucks etc dogged in paddocks.
But generally speaking the country looks a treat – north to south – and with wall of crop yet to be harvested albeit some have given up with very wet feet.
There was of course some interesting aspects of this week’s markets that deserve comment.
The first was the outstanding quality – both cattle and sheep – that were presented in all these store yardings. This is generally not that condition that store buyers prefer to purchase their replacement livestock but these are the terms of this year’s spring markets.
There was one curious aspect to the Kerr & Co, Hamilton, spring sale.
The single largest vendor, selling almost 800 cattle on the day was “The Union”, Woolsthorpe, owned and operated by the McKenna family, of Midfield Group fame.
When questioned on the reason for their public auction sell-off, rather than being the stock being processed through their own feedlot and processing facility, I was given the slip and the answer was cunningly avoided.
Reading between the lines and knowing the business attributes of the company’s founder, Colin McKenna, one can only assume there is more to be gained financially from a sale now into the grazing industry than retaining outright ownership and future processing through the company’s meatworks.
Many people have questioned recently the strength of the current market and indeed how long trading can be sustained at these levels.
The obvious message that can be taken from the actions of this processor and others in the physical market, and from information sources the likes of Meat & Livestock Australia, USDA, ABARE and the Agri-banks is that markets must ease considerably to realign with global beef prices.
However, it was also obvious to view this past week the return of major feeders to buying feeder heifers which tends also to suggest that foreseen supply levels through into the autumn may not be as sustained as first envisaged due to the strong actions of cattle breeders to rebuild the national herd.
