A lot will rest on Wednesday’s fat cattle markets to get a true read on price trends over the past week.
Public holidays have disrupted three weeks in succession, and despite some small yardings, prices did not show some of the expected lifts.
One needs to look at the past two weeks to assess price trends.
Pre-Easter, cancelled sales and small yardings, did aid some higher prices, epsecially for export cattle.
The week between Easter and Anzac Day was interesting with Leongatha agents going all out, offering over 2500 head, most of which were prime steers, bullocks and cows.
Around 1000 of these were cows, and the big influx of numbers, combined with two short weeks, created a good outcome for producers.
Prices for some classes of cows rose significantly.
This market was a key indicator for cow prices as most other cow markets were either smaller or not held due to the Anzac Day holiday.
Better quality beef cows reached a very high 270c with most selling between 245 & 260c/kg lwt. Strong restocker competition pushed the top price out to 293c/kg lwt.
This market also offered over 500 prime bullocks and steers, plus close to 500 manufacturing steers and bullocks.
Prices were generally firm to dearer with bullocks averaging 3c/kg higher. Prices for prime bullocks were mostly between 310 & 333c/kg lwt.
South Gippsland is still producing some very good quality, and crossbred bullocks sold from 285-320c/kg with Friesians mostly 250-266c/kg lwt.
From this market on, most other sales followed these price trends. Some differences showed up with quality varying elsewhere, and less competition in some of the usual downtrodden markets.
The only other significant market over the past week was Wagga Wagga, Monday. While this market was smaller, agents still offered 3220 cattle.
Typical of this market, the larger number were vealers and yearling steers and heifers.
After a big rain over the weekend, restocker competition increased dramatically lifting prices for calves by an average of 33c/kg.
The top price for calves was 495c, while processors paid to 385 & 390c/kg for two single top quality vealers.
Wagga Wagga is well known for its restocker and feedlot activity, and this sale was no different with 95pc of the yearling steers, 90pc of the heifers purchased for on-feeding.
Trade purchases of steers peaked at 360c, and heifers at 350c/kg lwt.
As mentioned earlier, prime bullocks followed the trend averaging 2c/kg higher, making from 312-336c/kg.
Pakenham, Monday, was the only other market of note, but supply was quite small with only 581 cattle penned, and this included a small offering of cows with no market Tuesday.
Quality was also very mixed at Pakenham with young calves penned, through to an pet bullock that weighed 1095kgs.
Limousin vealer selling for 392.6c.kg lwt, due to the extreme shortage of vealers at the moment.