Buyers to be lacking in strength at weaner sales

In northern NSW, Colin Say & Co director Shad Bailey, Glen Innes, said lotfeeders, rather than backgrounders and grass finishers, would make up a bulk of the competition heading south.

“You’d think the cattle would have [a lot of] condition and weight, especially in Western Victoria and into SA, so I would have thought the major competition would be from feedlots,” Mr Bailey said.

“We just haven’t had a break here to go there with any confidence whatsoever, unless they’ve got crop in.

“We can still grow feed now and we are one of the best areas in NSW at the minute especially in the north, but [the feed] has no guts to it, every time we get rain, we get heat or wind.

“The eastern country is not too bad, but to the west on heavy black soil it is still tight and water is becoming a problem, and parts to the north of us would be feeding constantly now as they would be through the middle of winter.

“Some producers are weaning cattle now at three months to keep feed going; if we get rain it can turn around quickly here, but to the west and north it has got to be substantial rain to grow feed.”

Mr Bailey said cattle in the 320-330 kilogram and heavier category were attracting strong northern feedlot competition, so they would likely be looking for more numbers in the New Year.

“However if backgrounders that generally source cattle can see a shortage of weaners in central and northern NSW moving into March-April, because a lot of cattle have been sold as bobby calves or splitters (on their mothers), it may entice people running backgrounding programs to operate if they have any feed available to secure numbers,” he said.  

In the south, Terry Ginnane, Landmark, Leongatha, said while South Gippsland was having a cracking season, the build up of cattle purchased earlier in the season could put a dint in competition coming from that region.

“Demand will be similar to normal, but we are sitting on a lot of bullocks and fat cattle that might not get sold before those calf sales because at the moment all the abattoirs have enough numbers around and December might be reasonably tight for kill space, which will mean a few people will be buying cattle later,” he said.

He added that the differential between prime and store cattle was in the favour of the trader, but lotfeeders and meat companies would still set the price point.

“I don’t think prices will change much to what they are now, it depends a little but on what the feedlots and big companies do, they have been setting the market over the past few years, the price of grain and their forward prices has got them a little bit wound back to what they normally are,” he said.

“We are in a situation that we have bought a lot of cattle early because East Gippsland has been so dry, they haven’t gone far to buy cattle this year as local yardings have been much bigger than normal, which if cattle are being consigned to Gippsland makes more sense to buy them here than travel over the other side of the state to buy them.

“The season’s been pretty good, people have been buying up right through spring because there’s been opportunities, and we will still be there to buy but I do know we are probably going to be sitting on cattle we would like to sell now but will have to hold until January, in those cases won’t buy in until after then.”

In southern NSW, Marc Greening, Injemira Beef Genetics, Holbrook, said it would be business as usual for him, returning to the Victorian calf sales for the 12th year.

“I will be supporting Injemira clients and buying steers and heifers to go into grassfed finishing program for the steers and joining program for heifers,” Mr Greening said.  

“And I have two significant orders for Injemira-blood steer calves for commercial clients supplying specialist grassfed markets.

“I go to the Western District because of the professional way cattle are presented, in terms of weaning status, breeding history, vaccination and just general quality of yardings in their entirety.

“Fundamentals of the beef industry are still outstanding and all it is going to take is some water - never in my time have I seen such a differential between the finished article, and particularly the further you go north, the store market.

“So I am extremely confident about the short term and medium term future.”