Bairnsdale cattle prices fall as Gelantipy, Wulgumerang, Buchan calves headline calf sale

Agents yarded 3178 cattle on Friday, down from an expected 4500-head sale after many vendors withdrew their cattle from the market due to the decrease in cattle prices in recent days.

Many of the feature and vendor-bred cattle offered at the East Gippsland Livestock Exchange were sold at the Gelantipy calf sale in years gone by, and came from well-known breeders in the Wulgulmerang, Butchers Ridge, Gelantipy and Buchan districts.

Agents and buyers said prices for store cattle eased by anywhere between $100-$300 a head, depending on weight, compared to the Mountain Calf Sales a week earlier.

Bill Wyndham & Co livestock manager Colin Jones said major cattle buying regions, including South Gippsland, were less noticeable at the fortnightly sale.

"The quality of the yarding was absolutely outstanding right from the very first pen through to the last pen of the sale," Mr Jones said.

"It's a credit to all the vendors who have cattle in this sale because you wouldn't see too many better Herefords than what there was here.

"Unfortunately, the job was a lot tougher and I think it's mainly due to everywhere in Victoria being very dry, and exceptionally dry here after the weekend."

Regular volume buyers including South Gippslander Anthony Hullick and Nutrien South Gippsland director Eddie Hams were absent from the market.

Elders Gippsland livestock manager Morgan Davies said the sales followed on a week after the Mountain Calf Sales, where 9000 cattle went under the hammer across five sales.

"There were also 1500 cattle at Sale last Thursday so there's 10,500 cattle that's been thrown on top of another 3000 cattle today... it's tough enough," he said.

Nutrien South Gippsland Livestock manager Brad Obst said the heavier end of the vendor-bred calves attracted the most attention.

"There was a little bit of northern competition and that helped the lighter end of the market," he said.

"The heifer market was reasonably firm, but all in all I thought it was a magnificent yarding of cattle, but the market is where the market is.

"On the top end of the calves, prices were not that different from the mountain sales, but on the lighter end, prices could have been down $100-$150."

Among the volume buyers was Alex Scott & Staff livestock manager Neil Darby, Warragul, who bought 207 mainly Hereford steers for a handful of bullock fatteners in West Gippsland.

North-east Victorian agent Bo Helwig, Corcoran Parker, Wodonga, bought 250 steers for two backgrounding clients at Wodonga and Barnawartha.

A northern agent from central-western NSW, who wished to remain anonymous, was also among the gallery of prominent buyers.

The sale started with a pen of 11 Charolais steers consigned by Benedetti Farming, Lindenow, 524kg, which made $1230 or 234c/kg.

DM Jensen, Bairnsdale, sold 23 Angus steers, 383kg, for $1120 or 294c/kg to an agent from central-western NSW.

K & P Whelan, Swan Reach, sold 16 Angus steers, 453kg, for $1240 or 273c/kg, and 20 heifers, 352kg, for $860 or 244c/kg to a feedlot via Wellington Livestock, Sale.

PM Keat, Forge Creek, sold 16 Angus steers, 449kg, for $1140 or 253c/kg.

PJ & MJ Tulloch, Briagolong, sold 15 Angus and Black Baldy steers, 425kg, for $1280 or 301c/kg to Nutrien South Gippsland Livestock.

J Hayward & Partners, Ensay, sold 25 Black Baldy steers, 387kg, for $1020 or 263c/kg to agent Owen Kindellan, and 26 steers, 341kg, for $1000 or 293c/kg to Dick Rogers, Wulgulmerang.

The same vendor sold 26 Hereford/Shorthorn-cross steers, 371kg, for $1060 or 294c/kg.

Bill and Annemarie Henderson, Gelantipy, sold 90 Hereford mixed-sex calves, 9-10 months, including 18 steers, 427kg, for $1480 or 346c/kg, and 21 steers, 371kg, for $1080 or 291c/kg.

The Hendersons also sold 15 heifers, 342kg, for $880 or 257c/kg, and 18 heifers, 308kg, for $730 or 237c/kg.

PA Smith, Omeo, sold 70 Hereford steers and 90 heifers including 18 steers, 390kg, for $1280 or 328c/kg, 22 steers, 360kg, for $1280 or 355c/kg, and 20 steers, 330kg, for $1200 or 390c/kg.

The same vendol sold 20 Hereford heifers, 326kg, for $670 or 205c/kg, 24 heifers, 307kg, for $690 or 224c/kg, and 25 heifers, 292kg, for $600 or 205c/kg.

CD & JA Cooper, Wulgulmerang, sold 65 Hereford steers, 9-11 months, including 22 steers, 378kg, for $1300 or 343c/kg, and 25 steers, 359kg, for $1290 or 359c/kg.

Bayrook Pastoral, Butchers Ridge, sold 103 Hereford/Shorthorn-cross steers and 46 heifers, 8-9 months, including 25 steers, 344kg, for $1160 or 337c/kg, 30 steers, 312kg, for $1120 or 358c/kg, and 30 steers, 292kg, for $810 or 277c/kg.

The same vendor aols 21 heifers, 322kg, for $800 or 248c/kg.

Brad Ingram, Bonang, sold 14 Hereford steers, 12 months, 441kg, for $1570 or 356c/kg, and 13 steers, 397kg, for $1490 or 375c/kg.

Both pens were bought by a bullock fattener at Maffra via Elders Delaney Livestock & Property.

Tim Woodgate, Buchan sold 165 Hereford steers and 93 heifers, June-August 2023-drop, including 26 steers, 381kg, for $1250 or 328c/kg to a Warragul bullock fattener, 27 steers, 369kg, for $1030 or 279c/kg, and 29 steers, 359kg, for $960 or 267c/kg.

Mr Woodgate also sold 25 heifers, 302kg, for $710 or 235c/kg, 31 heifers, 295kg, for $700 or 237c/kg, and 35 heifers, 261kg, for $620 or 237c/kg.

Kevin and Tammy Woodgate, Buchan, sold 64 Hereford steers, 9-10 months, including 24 steers, 351kg, for $1240 or 353c/kg, and 22 steers, 314kg, for $1020 or 324c/kg.

GA & SA Moon, Wulgulmerang, sold 91 Hereford steers, 9-10 months, including 24 steers, 291kg, for $910 or 312c/kg, and 24 steers, 277kg, for $890 or 321c/kg.

PC & D Moon, Wulgulmerang, sold 21 Hereford steers, 338kg, for $990 or 292c/kg.

Finchley, Craigie, sold 162 Hereford/Gelbvieh-cross cattle, 11-12 months, including 28 steers, 393kg, for $1020 or 259c/kg, 27 steers, 360kg, for $830 or 230c/kg, and 30 steers, 318kg, for $750 or 235c/kg.

Mectec Pty Ltd sold 13 Angus and Black Baldy steers, 513kg, for $1500 or 292c/kg, and 16 steers, 499kg, for $1500 or 300c/kg.

M & T Clark, Calulu, sold 17 Angus steers, 390kg, for $1220 or 312c/kg.

GA Dimarco, Calulu, sold 22 Angus steers, 343kg, for $1050 or 306c/kg.

Wangarabell Station, Genoa, sold 16 Angus steers, 260kg, for $790 or 303c/kg.

In the heifers, Creighton Grange, Mount Taylor, sold 25 Angus, 376kg, for $1020 or 271c/kg.

TG & RA Faithfull, Dargo, sold 15 Angus heifers, 376kg, for $1060 or 281c/kg.