Elders Pakenham was the leading agent at last Thursday’s store cattle market, offering a high quality yarding of just over 1000 steers and heifers.
Accompanying them was another 1100 cattle, and many of these were well bred, but did include a few pens of Friesian steers, and a number of lighter weight steers and heifers.
A few pens of good quality cows and calves topped off the larger yarding.
Some of the leading lines of cattle came from Glenburn, most came form West and South Gippsland with a few from Rosedale and other Central Gippsland areas.
Competition was stronger with volume buyers operating on the larger drafts of steers and heifers. Feedlot competition was a very relevant part of this sale with yearling and younger steers attracting much of the demand.
In some ways there was two sides to this sale with the best bred lines selling at firm to slightly cheaper rates, while other cattle were $30-$60 per head cheaper.
The sale opened with yearling steers selling to $1700, and most purchased for grain feeding.
Terra Nostra, Lang Lang, sold 10 Hereford steers for the top price here, but later in the sale, Parkdale Willows P/L, sold 14 Hereford & Angus steers from $1640-$1760.
Featured lines sold very well. Cremona Park, “One Tree”, Caldermeade, sold an annual draft of 79 Angus & Charolais-Angus steers from $950-$1300.
Lojosa Springs, Glenburn, offered 208 mostly Angus steers, TeMania blood, all spring 2016 drop calves. These sold exceptionally well making from $900-$1220, to average $1118.
The trend of quality selling to the best competition, continued throughout the whole sale. Rocklea Park, Sunbury, sold 22 Angus steers from $1200-$1360, equaling 425-429 cents per kilogram liveweight.
A similar trend was seen in the heifer sale with the featured lines selling very well. Lojosa Springs sold 200 Angus & Charolais Angus heifers from $820-$1035. The Cremona Park heifers sold between $750-$1030.
MD Lovitt, Trafalgar, sold 25 Black Simmental-Angus heifers from $905-$935, and M Casey, Arthurs Creek, 12 young Angus heifers for $790.
Cows and calves sold well for their quality with most making from $1400-$2350. Top of this section was SB Marriott, Outtrim, with 31 Angus-Friesian cows with Charolais & Angus calves at foot.
This is close to the end of a large herd dispersal, which has occurred over the past 10 weeks. These cows and calves sold from $2025-$2650.
Madory Properties, The Gurdies, sold 12 Angus cross cows with Black Simmental calves from $1825-$2050.
All up, this was a very solid market, given the early turn into frosty and cold days.