Kyneton agents offered a small wintertime yarding of 400 store cattle on Wednesday June-28 to reserved demand following a month of limited rain and severe frosts.
With the season again paused on a knife-edge and with prime markets also softening over the course of the past month, prices paid were wound down by margins of 20-30 cents per kilogram although larger pen lots of well-bred steers and heifers suited to feed or live export held their ground better than most.
A good-sized crowd attended the sale however few of the locals were tempted by the reduced money, many preferring to wait on “the offerings from above” before restocking.
A single Lowline steer, weighed at 730kg, topped the June market at $1650 a head while steers weighed from 360-450kg generally made $1200-$1400 to average 333 cents per kilogram.
Next in line, priced at $1400/head, was a yard of 10 Angus steers weighed at 396kg. These were sold by wine-maker, Granite Hill Wines of Baynton to live exporter, Harmony Food & Agriculture while Tivey Pastoral sold, at $1230/head, yards of 16 Angus, 348kg, and then a pen of 15, 290kg, priced at $1200.
A second pen of eight Angus steers, 292kg, from Granite Hill Wines made $1050 while vendor Penmore sold 16 Angus-Hereford steers, 283kg, at $1090 a head or 385c/kg.
Local processor, Hardwicks of Kyneton, was maintained a close eye of proceedings. Hardwick buyer, Brian Brady focused mainly on Euro-breds to feed, selecting at $1180/head a small yard of four Limousin steers, 341kg, offered by R Hargraves while a second pen of Hargraves Limousin steers, 277kg, made $1050 a head.
Lighter spring-drop steers, 280-360kg, made $940-$1230 or 362-cents while lighter (unweighed) steers made $940-$1050, averaging an estimated 400c/kg.
Heifer sales were adjusted down following their steer-counterpart sales. Heavy heifers made $1120-$1405, averaging 300c/kg while light young heifers made $810-$980, and again the lightest and youngest in the yarding made in excess of 400c/kg.
Among the better sales of heifers, C Wellm sold a yard of 13 Limousin heifers, 440kg, at $1405. Granite Hills Wines sold 8 Angus heifers, 375kg, at $1230 and a second pen, 297kg, at $1060.
At the lighter end the Estate of C Ellery, sold Angus heifers, estimated 240kg at $970 while N Kelson sold a pen of six Angus, estimated 200kg, at $845.
To round off sales in the 400 head yarding, an outfit of 11 Angus heifers, with 100 percent of Angus calves, drew high interest.
Aged two years and re-depastured to a Quarterford Angus bull, the line was sold to Rodwells Kilmore at $2120.