Producers from Victoria’s high country regions around Omeo, Benambra and Ensay have again wowed onlookers with the quality of calves on offer.
In two days and five sales, some 10,000 calves – including a lot of the traditional red and white calves, black calves and some Euro-infused types – have been sold.
In the first three sales on Tuesday and yesterday morning’s Ensay sale, cattle overall averaged $100-$150 more than 2016 partly due to lack of light-weight calves, and the trend for dearer calf sales throughout the state.
Huge crowds of buyers and onlookers travelled from far and wide to see the spectacle of the annual Mountain Calf Sales. While the cattle are beautifully bred and raised by passionate cattlemen and women, the sales are also unique for the friendly characters and the picturesque alpine settings. Many buyers came from South and West Gippsland, some from the Western District and good number of young heifers went to South East of SA for backgrounding.
Wednesday morning's Ensay sale had an excellent lineup of Hereford cattle, in both size and breeding. The huge crowd saw steers sell up to $1640, which surpassed last year by $200. Producers are very happy with result.
*For reports on Tuesday’s three sales see pages 47 to 49 and for reports on Elders’ Ensay and Omeo Hereford sale, see next week’s edition of Stock & Land.
