Restockers, feedlots lift sales
Young steers and heifers are sought after for stock, while processors continue to lead the demand for heavy trade cattle.
THE cattle market has fired up again, with price rises of 10-20c/kg evident at many saleyards in the past five days.
Driving the market was strong feedlot and restocker support for young steers and heifers, while on older cattle competition for cows has ramped up again, with the US grinding beef market still tracking strongly.
Dearer trends were reported at all the major saleyards on Monday, including Pakenham in Gippsland and Wagga Wagga in southern NSW. The best highly muscled vealer steers sold from 420c/kg to a top of 444c/kg at Pakenham to be quoted 10 cents dearer.
Some heavier yearling steers that were outstanding for shape and potential carcass yield sold to 451c/kg and averaged 430c/kg or $1990 across a weight of 462kg.
This is some of the best money recorded in Victoria for heavy trade cattle sold to processors in the past month.
Once off the pick of the vealers and yearlings most grass-type young cattle to meat buyers, feedlots and restockers have been varying from 360c/kg to 420c/kg, depending on their appeal and breeding.
Restockers are the group prepared to pay the higher rates for well-bred calves to turn out, and there were some high sales of more than 500c/kg recorded in southern NSW earlier this week. However, such extreme money has been limited and only for calves sized below 280kg.
The main run of feeder steers weighing 330-400kg sold to 447c/kg and averaged 414c/kg or $1500 at Wagga Wagga, according to NLRS data.
The heifer portion averaged 401c/kg, moving closer to steer money after the category recorded a lift of 11c/kg compared with a week ago.
In the export market, there were price rallies for bullocks, cows and manufacturing steers.
At Pakenham heavy grown steers above 600kg sold from 365-385c/kg to return dollar averages of $2300 to $2700.
Friesian or manufacturing steers also improved, with a run of heavy dairy steers averaging 319c/kg, up 19 cents on the previous market and taking the average above $1900.
It comes as export competition for good slaughter cows intensifies amid strong demand for grinding or hamburger beef.
The latest price indicator for 90 chemical lean cow beef into the US was 816c/kg in Australian terms, up nearly 7 per cent on the same time last year.
Price gains of up 25 cents in the past few days have pushed the best beef cows back over 300c/kg, reaching a top of 328c/kg at Wagga Wagga.
Most good beef cows are now trending between 270c/kg and 310c/kg.
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