Demand for young cattle ahead of the wet season is push up prices nationally
Queenslanders are paying up to 100c/kg more for young cattle than what Victorian producers are handing out, as the northern wet season looms. How far this factor will push prices is in question.
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THE northern states are responsible for creating this spring’s record price rates for young cattle as producers in Queensland and NSW anticipate a wet monsoon season.
Saleyard results show there is a now a 100 cent per kilogram price difference between similar grade yearling steers being sold in Victoria compared to Queensland.
This has helped push the Eastern Young Cattle Indicator to 826c/kg, compared to 519.29c/kg at the same time last year.
The unusually sharp price rises in the EYCI this past fortnight are being credited to big yardings of young store cattle at Roma and Dalby which have been snapped up by feed driven northern producers at big money.
Meat and Livestock Australia markets analyst Stuart Bull said restocker action was the topic “on the tip of the tongue” throughout the industry but the flow-on impact of QLD producers demand for replacements could not be understated.
“Those southern QLD yards have accounted for the highest throughput of cattle in recent weeks, they’ve been the frontrunners,” Mr Bull said.
But the dear trend also continues in southern centres.
And, the slight gain in prime cattle rates in the past three weeks fanned the already hot, grass-fuelled demand at Warrnambool’s monthly store sale, according to J & J Kelly agent Jack Kelly.
Mr Kelly said some light calves made more than 800c/kg, while some of the first, light weaners to be sold for the season made $1500-$1600 and Hereford cows with calves fetched $3000.
How long prices could hold out at current levels depended, in part, on how quickly the restaurant trade picked up as the COVID-19 recovery began, he said.
The greatest driver remained grass growth.
“There is going to be more grass about, it is very warm this week with rain coming and people are just starting silage and there is going to be a lot around, so people have got to have something to put in the paddock to eat it,” he said.
In an encouraging sign for upcoming weaner sales, the first of the weaners coming through Warrnambool saleyards fetched prices of 480c/kg, for Angus-black baldy steers, February-drop, weighing 341kg and a pen of lighter Angus weaners, 267kg, made 565c/kg.
Demand was also high for heifers and cows, and Mr Kelly tipped there would be a swing back towards breeding so producers could secure stock into next year.
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