MULTIPLE sales on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, last week, divided the competition across some sales. Cooma held a double header, Wednesday and Friday, and Carcoar offered 8,000, and Ballarat, 2,500 head Friday too.
Wodonga’s independent agents offered 2,526 cattle in their regular monthly store sale, yarding 105 cows with calves, mostly of good quality, and a mixture of yearling and younger steers and heifers.
Some of the regular buyers and agents were absent, but there were plenty of buyers to fill the gap, and this competition set a strong result.
One buyer from Dubbo was purchasing very young calves, and competing against another for the same article, saw liveweight prices equaling 450-500c/kg paid.
Cows and calves were sold first, and the strong competition started here with prices being from $1825-$2700 paid in a dearer sale.
RP&LL Adams, Staghorn Flat, sold Angus cows with Limousin calves for $2675, and a Limousin heifer and calf for $2700.
J&G MacDougall, Dunollie Park, Tooma, sold 21 Hereford cows, 4-7 years, with CAF 6-8 weeks, for $2140, and Paddle&Hodgkin, Tallangatta, 20 aged Angus cows with CAF to 6 weeks, making $1900.
Finlay Family Pastroal, Morven, had a big clean out of PTIC cows from 3 years to aged cows. Their 196 females, vetted to Hereford bulls for June-August calving sold very well, making from $1340-$1820.
J&G MacDougall, Tooma, sold 121 Angus, Hereford and Angus-Hereford steers of mixed ages from younger 2016 drop calves, to yearling steers.
Their heavier steers sold for to $1555, or 345c/kg, while their younger steers sold between $980&$1490, 375-407c/kg lwt.
Nearly all of the cattle offered had their weights displayed, and rather than softening competition, it aided better demand, especially for the light, young calves.
Much of the competition came from within a 120km radius with some feedlot and northern competition thrown in. Two professional feedlots purchased steers for immediate feeding.
Most of the younger steers sold between $1050&$1425, which equaled 375-425c/kg lwt. Fairlea Farms, Tallangatta Valley, sold 25 Angus steers, 12-13 months, for $1460, and RM&DM Wolter, Walwa, 20 steers for $1390.
On a liveweight price basis, very young steers sold the best. Koora Pastoral, Holbrook, sold 21 Angus steers, 203-241kgs, from $855-$1070.
Geddes Pastoral, Holbrook, sold 29 Bos Indicus cross steer calves from $715-$885, or up to 471c/kg lwt.
FG Kent P/L, Eskdale, sold 7 Charolais steers for $1350, DK Wilson, Howlong, 8 Shorthorn steers for $1230, and Yerambra Pastoral, Henty, 35 European crossbreeds from $1140-$1330.
Similar to many sales of late, few heifers were offered as a percentage of the total market.
Sparcorp P/L, Mansfield, sold 10 yearling Angus heifers for $1505, or 346c/kg lwt. A very good sale was that of 32 Angus heifers, 2-4&6 teeth, in plain store condiition. JG&V Bond, Wyandra, Tooma, sold these for $1335, which was a very good sale.
“Shadowgrove”, Khancoban, sold 35 Angus heifers, 15-18mths, from $1080-$1250. If one wanted to buy heifers you needed to spend between 350&385c/kg lwt.
FG Kent P/L sold Charolais heifers sold for $1300. Doug Paton Family Trust & JW Paton, Corryong, sold 24 Shorthorn heifers for $1035.
However, the strong northern competition for young heifer calves, drove the sale to another level. Clea Pastoral Co, Captains Flat, sold 160 Angus heifer calves,180-212kgs, from $820-$900.
Geddes Past, Holbrook, sold 44 young heifers from $600-$855, and Koora Past, also of Holbrook, 28 Angus heifer calves from $800-$860.