Ingram, Kimpton families reflect on Bairnsdale, Mortlake cattle sales

The optimistic outlook for graziers is expected to improve even more with analysts tipping some input hurdles such as fertiliser costs and labour force shortages could begin to lower or improve within weeks.

High country Angus family, the Ingrams, sold 172 Angus and Black Baldy steers, July and August 2022-drop at Bairnsdale on Friday at a market Kelvin Ingram described as "surprising" and "better than we expected".

"I've been reading market reports and thought if we averaged $1400-$1500 a head and topped $1650 we'd be doing well," he said.

"In the end, we topped at $1940 and we were very happy with the way the cattle presented and an average of more than $1600."

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The family has sold their annual draft of cattle at Bairnsdale since the closure of the Delegate, NSW, calf sales in the early-2000s.

"We're hoping the market has bottomed out and we hope buyers can make a profit out of our cattle and buy them with confidence again next year," Mr Ingram said.

Mr Ingram's son, Jamie Ingram, said the family retained their heifer portion of the annual draft for another month or six weeks because of the abundance of grass at their Bonang operation near the NSW border.

The Ingrams usually receive an annual average rainfall of 915 millimetres, but last year received close to 1400mm.

"The calves we sold the other day were born on mud," Mr Ingram said.

Meanwhile, Charles and Cass Kimpton, Toora West Angus, Glenthompson, sold a portion of their annual draft at Mortlake last Thursday, including 382 steers and 200 heifers, aged 18-20 months.

Their steers averaged 454 kilograms, 439 cents a kilogram and $1995, while their heifers averaged 410kg, 461c/kg and $1896.

"The prices were what I hoped for and I couldn't have expected any more under the current market conditions," Mr Kimpton said.

The Kimptons run 1200 breeders across 2400 hectares at Glenthompson, and grow out their steers and second run of heifers at Broadwater in south-west Victoria.

"At least 80 per cent of our cattle go to feedlots, and occasionally a few bullock fatteners," Mr Kimpton said.

"I've worked in the agriculture and livestock industry for 63 years and I've learned not to be surprised by anything.

"It would seem though from other people who are in touch with the industry that prices should hold where they are now for the foreseeable future, and enviably they will rise again."

Episode 3 director and analyst Matt Dalgleish said farmers could expect some more relief in the coming weeks as fertiliser prices for inputs like urea were set to ease.

"Urea pricing has reversed nearly all of its gains that we saw during the lead up to the Ukraine invasion, along with gas prices in Europe which were high because of the war," he said.

"The war is still a problem there, but Europe has made efforts to curb their alliance on Russian gas, which is used as a seedstock for urea, and as a result we're back to pre-invasion levels for urea.

"If you're talking at the peaks, urea was up to $1400 a tonne and... now we could be below $700/t if the global price flows through."