Very large crowds enjoyed the sunshine and extraordinary cattle prices at Landmark and Rodwells’ annual spring sales at Heyfield and Seaton yards respectively.
What set last Friday’s sales above any others was the sheer number of steers that sold over the equivalent of 400 cents per kilogram live weight.
In fact, with the exception of a few pens of heavy yearling steers, all sold above this figure, and then some.
Both yardings comprised of very well-bred steers and heifers, which did aid strong competition. However, the dynamics have turned, as buyers of feeder steers, and some heifers, struggled to buy a pen. Producers are spending some of the money received from recent fat cattle sales, and it would appear that grass fever has started.
Out at Seaton, VM&EJ White sold 21 yearling Angus steers, 0-2 teeth, from $1840-$1960, and in at Heyfield, J&H Nettlebeck sold eight Angus steers for $1720.
The best competition came only a few pens into each sale, where a few feature lines sold exceptionally well.
BM,SM&MR Higgins, Glenmaggie, sold 66 Angus-Hereford steers, 12-14 months, in very good condition, and of very good breeding, in the Rodwells sale. These sold from $1430-$1560, or 423-476c/kg lwt.
In the same sale, WL,IFJ,WG&SJ Cumming, Glenmaggie, sold 71 Hereford steers, 12-14 months, from $1370-$1570.
In at Heyfield, J&G Wals sold 59 Angus steers from $1350-$1490. It took something like 39 pens before prices dropped below $1000, and there were only a few pens after this.
There was 1115 head offered at Seaton, and 762 in the Heyfield yards, and attendees came from King Island, at least four feedlots, and many Gippsland producers.
E Jefferies & S Phipps sold nine Charolais steers for $1390, which weighed over 320kg, but most of the yarding weighed under this.
Thelma Coster offered 115 Angus and Angus-Hereford steers, mostly 200-300kg lwt. These sold very well making from $835-$1260.
Strong demand from producers for breeding heifers aided some excellent results. The best of the Angus heifers offered by J&G Wals, sold from $1235-$1420, or 382-395c/kg lwt, for breeding stock. Equally, 36 Pinaro Angus heifers will go to the bull, making from $1200-$1340.
At least two feedlot companies made purchases of heifers, although both were grumbling about the price. However, demand for heifers may have been very strong because the same number of days on grain as their brothers, heifers were a cheaper option for feedlots.
Jefferies & Phipps’ nine Charolais heifers sold at Heyfield for $1280, and B&G Wallace, 26 Angus heifers from $1060-$1100.
Out at Seaton, 59 Angus-Hereford heifers of the Higgins family, sold from $910-$1330, and 27 of the Hereford heifers offered by the Cumming family, sold from $1030-$1140, all excellent sales.
JR&CA Gell sold 39 Angus heifers from $950-$1140, and they also sold 19 Angus cows with CAF, 3-4 months, for $1870, which was realistically only splitting value.
