- Yarded 1559 heifers, av wt 315kg
- 360-450kg: $1014-$1440, av 317c/kg
- 280-360kg: $840-$1306, av 302/kg
Future breeder buyers and an eager band of lot and grass feeders were out in force bidding British breed heifers to higher prices than were initial expected on four day of the Hamilton beef weaner sales.
Competing for a yarding of 1559 – 370 head less than on a year ago – prices paid for the mainly Angus and Hereford penning rose mostly into a 280 to 320c/kg trading range, up from the 260-300 cents initially anticipated.
The driving force behind the strong demand for future breeders was a small handful of stud producer supporting bull buying clientele by purchasing bloodline heifers to join their respective advanced genetic breeding programs.
Topping the sale in what were marathon bidding exchanges were yards of Banquet and Vermont-blood Stoney Rises heifers offered by the late Mayoh Thompson, Penshurst. These were bid to 382c/kg on two occasions with the drafts heaviest pens 377kg sold at $1440 a head while the seconds of the line, 342kg, realized $1303 a head.
The buyer of Stoney Rises heifers was Robbie and Margaret Paterson, Ballangeich who plan to join the lot to Banquet stud sires to front the Banquet bull sale next year.
Other Angus heifers to strike good demand was the opening yard of the sale, a December-January-drop draft of Corra Angus heifers, 435kg that made 304c/kg. These realized $1322 a head while a yard of Comley Banks Angus heifers, 379kg was bid to 322c/kg for $1284 a head.
Hereford heifer sale, while selectively supported to bull suppliers, saw best white-faced heifers best to a top of $1094 for Leon and Sally Wheeler’s Hereford heifers by Yarram Park bulls. The Wheeler heifers, 352kg, made 311c/kg while 18 Orana Hereford heifers, 343kg, also by Yarram Park bulls made 311c/kg for $1066/head.
Processor buyer, Hardwicks of Kyneton, Garrison Feedlot, Swan Hill and the Ogilvie Group, Lucindale, SA were the volume feeder buyers to support the market while western region grass-finishers were also more active than previous days throughout the series.