A large crowd of F1 heifer traders punched out a solid result at Camperdown’s largest annual sale of beef breeding females on Friday.
In a sale of 1000 head, which oozed excellence in quality from start to finish, pens of pregnancy tested in calf Angus-Friesian heifers, aged 2.5 years, made to $2550 per head while unjoined yearling-age heifer lots saw best sales soar to a top of $1800.
And in a first for Camperdown’s Premier heifer market, a consignment of specially prepared calved-out heifers drew plenty of attention making a sale high $2875 per each outfit to average $2775.
Camperdown agent Alan Hickey hailed the market as a terrific success.
“The yarding was dominated by “the black cattle” influence”, he said. But more importantly, he said it was encouraging to see the crowd in the latter half of the sale was as large as at the beginning, which emphases there is a continuing interest in breeding F1 cattle, the trading and preparation as first-calf heifers, and sustained interest growing beef for the domestic milk vealer meat trade”.
Topping the market for PTIC lines was GS & MY Sutherland “Melrose” Warrion. They sold in drafted penlots 112 head of Angus-Friesian heifers, joined to Limousin bulls for a first of February calving. These made from $1850 to $2550 a head and averaged $2275 while M& R Alexander, South Purrumbete sold 37 Angus-Friesian heifers to $2525, average $2425.
Charles Stewart & Co auctioneer, Corey Baulch said best presented PTIC lots generally made $2200- $2500 while the smaller framed females fetched $1800 to $2300.
Mr Baulch said the interest in unjoined heifers was better than expected. Better grown lots, aged 16-20 month-old he said made upwards of $1600 while slightly younger but joinable heifers, 14-16 months, mostly made upwards of $1450 a head.
In the unjoined heifer section G & D Cahill achieved the market top of $1800 with a pen of five Angus-Friesian, aged 16 months while Blain and Kenna sold 16 Angus Friesian, 16-18 months, at $1735.
As a first time participant in the Camperdown sale, Mindarra Park, Mokoan (near Benalla) sold 40 Angus-Friesian heifers, with mid-November born Limousin calves at foot.
These created a special interest from buyers seeking the calving job done and a live, healthy calf on the ground.
Mindarra Park principal, Darren Askew, said the offering of the heifers in a calved condition represented a lot of time-consuming, around-the-clock work. However the interest and the demand that the project has created has encouraged him to continue the operation to service a growing inquiry.