PRODUCERS can be proud of their annual offering sold at Yea, Wednesday, in the Rodwells and Landmark Upper Goulburn Rivers annual weaner calf sale. Combining excellence of breeding with a very good season saw one of the best yardings of steers and heifers seen for some time.
There were only a few small pens of lighter condition cattle showing some signs of hot weather.
The stand-out feature was the muscle shape and condition of nearly all of the yarding, and this inspired competition.
Outside, the car park overflowed outside the fence, due the number of people attending.
Some of the buying fraternity came from King Island with numerous buyers from NSW, including Dubbo, Bathurst and Forbes.
Many local and Gippsland buyers also made purchases. Worthy of note was a purchase of steers by Stock & Land retired analyst, Don Storey, for his King Island farm.
The sale opened with a brilliant pen of yearling Angus steers, which sold for $1580 to a West Gippsland bullock fattener.
These steers were part of 24 head sold by Lortonvale Farm, Yarck, and they did top the sale.
With fewer very light steers penned, only very minor sales were below $1000 with most selling from $1100-$1450.
Many price averages were noted equalling over $1300 to promote that this was a very good sale.
Inverugie Pastoral, Yea, who was awarded the best presented pen, sold 136 Angus steers to $1550, to average $1376.
JD&ML Hamilton, “Waimarie”, Homewood, sold a line of 101 Angus steers to $1450, av $1339, and Webb Pastoral, Glenburn, 119 Angus steers to $1450, av $1332.
However, this sale included a number of other breeds too. Gunyah Park, Killingworth, sold 31 Charolais cross steers to $1520, av $1449, J Bett, Wahroonga, 33 Limousin-Angus to $1360, av $1333, and J&TM McCormack, Alencon, Molesworth, 102 EU accredited, Hereford steers to $1400, av $1372.
Another very good sale of Hereford steers was I&J Marshman, “Gumble Gumble”, Limestone, selling 114 steers to $1380, av $1332.
These are only some of the steers quotes but they give some indication of the strength of the market.
Numerous people said that heifers sold better than the steers, and considering the gender difference, this may have been true.
There certainly was plenty of competition and many pens singularly, or on average made over $1200. Rothleigh, Alexandra, sold 29 Angus heifers to $1370, av $1287, and BM&MM Griffiths, Northwood, Seymour, 66 Angus heifers, also to $1370, av $1238.
One of the larger vendors was Webb Pastoral, Glenburn, with 81 Angus heifers to $1350, av $1235.
A little younger were the 46 Charolais cross heifers of R&K Elliott, Thornton, that sold to $1195, to average $1091.
The liveweight scales will be completed shortly, but estimates of liveweight prices for steers were mostly 365-457c, and heifers mostly 355-395c/kg.
