Feedlotters from across Victoria and NSW have stepped up to the rails at Pakenham's first February store sale in one of the saleyard's largest yardings of cattle in 27 years.
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Agents yarded 5236 cattle on the Thursday, February 8 sale where restockers took a back seat as volume buyers purchasing cattle for feedlots and backgrounding operations took up the slack.
The sale featured several annual consignments of vendor-bred cattle, including Camoola Angus which sold 362 mixed-sex Angus, 9-11 months, to a top price of $1520 a head.
The sale included a pen of 26 steers, 344kg, for $1520 or 441 cents a kilogram and 26 steers, 318kg, for $1390 or 437c/kg, with both pens knocked down to Yarra Valley agent Chris Stanley, Don Valley, for a buyer at Bairnsdale.
Camoola sold a further 26 steers, 321kg, for $1350 or 420c/kg, 15 steers, 294kg, for $1260 or 428c/kg, 30 steers, 331kg, for $1430 or 432c/kg, 30 steers, 302kg, for $1340 or 443c/kg, and 29 steers, 273kg, for $1150 or 421c/kg.
The final three pens were bought by a West Gippsland agent for bullock fatteners at Flinders and Athlone.
Camoola Angus manager Greg Mackay said the draft averaged $1118.
"If we got closer to autumn, we would have got a bit more money, but the cows are due to calve again now so we had to go now," he said.
Mr Mackay also sold 30 heifers, 322kg, for $960 or 298c/kg, 20 heifers, 299kg, for $870 or 290c/kg, 22 heifers, 269kg, for $800 or 297c/kg, 26 heifers, 313kg, for $980 or 313c/kg, 18 heifers, 290kg, for $800 or 275c/kg, 23 heifers, 288kg, for (20 or 319c/kg, 18 heifers, 269kg, for $810 or 301c/kg, and 13 heifers, 252kg, for $820.
The heifers were bought by several West Gippsland and NSW buyers.
Pepper Hill Trading, Willow Grove, sold 95 mixed-sex Angus, 9-11 months, including 29 steers, 336kg, for $1370 or 407c/kg, 34 steers, 295kg, for $1310 or 454c/kg, and 12 steers, 329kg, for $1270 or 386c/kg.
The first two pens were bought by bullock fatteners at Rokeby and Dromana.
Elders Delaney Livestock & Property director Anthony Delaney said it was one of the biggest sales at the Victorian Livestock Exchange in Pakenham.
"A number of agents here, ourselves included, had a real feature yarding, but in particular Alex Scott & Staff and Everitt Seeley & Bennetts," he said.
"It was a later-type, autumn-drop weaner sale... I think on your better lines of cattle from what I've seen at the sale were certainly equal to everywhere else."
Among the major buyers was Australian Food & Agriculture which bought 220 Angus steers, 400-500kg, for its Deniliquin, NSW, Feedlot.
Ben O'Kane, Teys Charlton, bought 300 Angus steers, 380-480kg, for its Charlton feedlot, north-west of Bendigo, while Melbourne-based commission buyer Campbell Ross bought about 400 cattle for several feedlots and backgrounders.
South Gippsland bullock fattener Wayne Osborne, Tarwin, bought about 120 Angus steers, 400-440kg, while J & F Feedlot bought 250 Angus steers, 480-550kg, for its feedlot at Yambinya Station, Burraboi, NSW.
Regular Pakenham buyer Anthony Hullick, Keswick Pastoral and Westside Meats, bought more than 250 steers and heifers, 320-370kg, during the fortnightly market.
In other sales, M Wieman, Hill End, sold nine Angus steers, 391kg, for $1270 or 324c/kg, 12 Black Baldy steers, 391kg, for $1290 or 329c/kg, and 16 Black Baldy steers, 345kg, for $1270 or 368c/kg.
The same vendor sold 24 Black Baldy heifers, 350kg, for $1070 or 305c/kg.
Wiltshaw Farms, Ventnor, sold 120 Angus steers and heifers, 9-11 months, including 21 steers, 406kg, for $1550 or 381c/kg to AFA, 32 heifers, 360kg, for $1120 or 311c/kg, and 29 heifers, 299kg, for $860 or 287c/kg.
Boonadilla Park, Woodend, sold 26 Angus steers, 320kg, for $1260 or 393c/kg.
Wallis Pastoral Co sold 20 Angus steers, 550kg, for $1800 or 341c/kg, 20 steers, 515kg, for $1620 or 314c/kg, and 20 steers, 466kg, for $1510 or 324c/kg.
The three pens were bought by J & F Feedlot.
P Kenny sold 18 steers, 512kg, for $1740 or 339c/kg to J & F Feedlot, and 17 steers, 478kg, for $1650 or 345c/kg.
Volpaia Park, Drouin South, sold 28 steers, 16-17 months, 539kg, for $1900 or 352c/kg, and 27 steers, 500kg, for $1860 or 372c/kg.
Both pens were bought by AFA.
C-Way Ag, Hazelwood, sold 26 steers, 415kg, for $1550 or 373c/kg, and 26 steers, 396kg, for $1420 or 358c/kg, with both pens knocked down to Charlton Feedlot.
Ingle Park, Balnarring, sold 22 steers, February and March 2023-drop, 427kg, for $1730 or 405c/kg, and 22 steers, 404kg, for $1620 or 400c/kg.
Clondrisse Pastoral Co, Flinders, sold 20 steers, 393kg, for $1550 or 394c/kg, 17 steers, 361kg, for $1440 or 398c/kg, 19 steers, 377kg, for $1460 or 387c/kg, and 11 Black Baldy heifers, 345kg, for $1080 or 313c/kg.
WPH Holdings, Modella, sold 19 Angus steers, 691kg, for $2050 or 296c/kg to Keswick Pastoral.
Boundary Road Investments, Dromana, sold 17 steers, 510kg, for $1770 or 347c/kg to J & F.
Wallaby Agriculture sold 25 steers, 471kg, for $1760 or 373c/kg, and 25 steers, 458kg, for $1770 or 386c/kg, with both pens bought by AFA.
Jarrahwood Pastoral sold 14 Hereford steers, 470kg, for $1520 or 323c/kg to Teys Charlton, and 10 heifers, 371kg, for $1050 or 282c/kg to commission buyer Duncan Brown, Albury, NSW.