Biggest buyers of 2024 cattle at Benambra, Ensay, Hinnomunjie and Omeo revealed

The purchasers, made up of agents, feedlotters, bullock fatteners and commission buyers, bought 4861 of the 9000 calves sold at Omeo, Benambra, Ensay and Hinnomunjie - or about 54 per cent of the total cattle sold.

Most of the calves sold at the five sales last week were spring 2023-drop steers and heifers, with many of the buyers on the influential buyers list also long-term supporters of the annual sales series.

Elders Gippsland livestock manager Morgan Davies said the cattle sold across the March 5 and 6 sales suited a range of programs, including breeding, fattening or feedlotting operations.

"Most of the top steers were $1400-$1700 a head, mid range steers were $1100-$1400 and the lighter cattle were $850-$1100," he said.

"In the heifers, the feature breeders made $1200-$1400 to go back to the paddock to be rejoined, while feedlot heifers were $1000-$1200 and the lighter heifers were $600-$900.

"Our results over the last week were certainly above expectations, considering the season is on a knife's edge and there seems to be a lot of cattle being forced onto the market at the moment."

Below is a list of some of the biggest buyers at the 2024 Mountain Calf Sales listed in no particular order.

Jamie Quinlan has played a key role at previous Mountain Calf Sales as an auctioneer for Elders, but this year he swapped the microphone for the notebook, walking away with more than 1000 cattle.

In total, he bought 1024 mixed-sex calves, including 450 Angus steers and 150 Angus heifers, plus 424 Herefords, including 100 heifers, while the balance were Hereford/Shorthorn-cross steers.

He also purchased 30 Charolais heifers at Benambra.

"All but 100 of these cattle will be going back onto grass between the Yarra Valley and Yea, and some into southern NSW for backgrounding to grow into feeder-weight cattle," Mr Quinlan said.

"There were roughly 100 cattle, including 15 big Hereford steers from Hinnomunjie that went into a grain-fed operation for export, and then about 80 heifers that went into a 100-day grain-fed program."

The cattle were purchased on behalf of seven clients in Victoria and NSW.

"I feel the cost of freight is limiting some of the northern competition at these sales, so we saw that as an opportunity to step up and buy some large runs of cattle," Mr Quinlan said.

"You can only get two decks down to Wangaratta [via Mount Hotham] or you have to take a B-double via Bairnsdale and Melbourne to go north.

"We identified the cattle we wanted, and in some cases buyers returned to buy the same cattle they did last year because they know how well they performed."

Northern agent Pat Cleary returned to the Mountain Calf Sales, purchasing 672 cattle across the five markets.

About 560 cattle were purchased for Willinga Park, Yass, NSW, which supplies grass-fed beef to Woolworths.

The operation bought a similar number of cattle during the western district weaner sales in early-January.

Regular high country buyer Alastair Nelson was "pleasantly surprised" when his 377 mixed-sex calves arrived at their new home last week.

The Colac-based feedlotter owns and operates YC Feeding and purchased 117 Angus and Hereford steers, evenly split across the two breeds, and 260 mainly Angus/Hereford-cross heifers.

"I was pleasantly surprised when the cattle were inducted because overall they were heavier than I thought," he said.

"The Angus and Angus-cross cattle I bought this year have certainly improved in breeding, and the Herefords were up to their usual standard."

Mr Nelson said he was attracted to the sales because of the "exceptional breeding".

"I wasn't able to buy the better end of the Herefords because they sold a bit too dear for what I had," he said.

"In the Omeo Hereford sale, there were the Faithfull, Lawlor, Ah Sam and Flannagan calves which were really good-quality cattle, but just that bit too dear."

Long-term Mountain Calf Sales buyer Graham Osborne, Officer, returned to the sales to secure his annual order of 570 steers, buying an even number of Angus and Hereford steers.

Mr Osborne and his business partners run a bullock fattening operation in South Gippsland.

"These cattle will go into grass-fed programs," he said.

"We'll be able to get these cattle up to export quality and warrant that they're grass-fed cattle for export markets to places like the US and Japan."

North-east Victorian commission buyer Graeme Ward bought 400 heifers for two operations in NSW.

Mr Ward has bought cattle from the Omeo sales for almost 60 years, and this year purchased Angus, Black Baldy and Hereford calves.

He said the cattle were purchased for a backgrounding and fattening operation in northern NSW, which supplies beef to a major supermarket, and a European Union-accredited, grass-fed fattening operation in central-western NSW.

West Gippsland agents Jordan Sim and Terry Ahearn were out in force across the five sales, purchasing 432 cattle across the two days.

Their purchases included 120 mixed-sex calves from the Omeo Hereford sale, and more than 200 steers and heifers from the Benambra sale.

"Some steers will go into backgrounding operations, others will be grown out as bullocks, while some of the heifers we bought will be retained for breeding," Mr Sim said.

Newly-minted Elders agent Anthony Delaney returned to the agency where he started his business, playing both a key role as an auctioneer at the annual Mountain Calf Sales and as a buyer at the rails.

Mr Delaney bought 307 mixed-sex Hereford calves, including 50 heifers, and credited vendors' hard work for breeding cattle in "exceptional condition".

"We got one pen of heifers to join, while the steers were bought to fatten at operations in central and West Gippsland," he said.

"These clients are return buyers and know the cattle have performed in the past.

"Across the board, we bought steers and heifers ranging from $1100 to $1550."

Earlier this year, Mr Delaney rejoined Elders, leaving Nutrien where he had worked since its inception.

Pakenham-based agent Jarrod Bennetts bought 320 mixed-sex cattle on day one of the Mountain Calf Sales across three markets at Hinnomunjie, Omeo and Benambra.

A majority of the cattle purchased were for a Ripplebrook feedlot which supplies cattle to the domestic and export markets.

South Gippsland agent Brian McCormack, Nutrien South Gippsland Livestock, Leongatha, bought 200 mixed-sex cattle for Dumbalk North backgrounders, the Hengstberger family.

His purchases included 49 Angus and Black Baldy heifers from Omeo, and 151 mixed-sex Herefords from Benambra.

Elders agent Doug Peachey, Pakenham, bought 109 cattle, including 20 heifers, for several Gippsland buyers.

"The heifers will be joined into breeding programs, with one lot of heifers retained as breeders and the other lot sold as joined heifers in two years' time," Mr Peachey said.

"Across the 109 spring 2023-drop cattle, they averaged $760 on a price per head basis."

Gippsland agency Elders Bairnsdale bought close to 450 cattle, including 300 Hereford heifers for a grass-fed program at Traralgon.

The agency also purchased 120 steers from the sales for a bullock fattener at Bairnsdale.