Ballarat cattle sale: Competition cools off after hot demand
While results were still strong at the Ballarat cattle sale last week, there were fewer major buyers present and bidding did not flow as easily as a month ago.
WHEN heavy grown steers sold to $2250 at Ballarat last week it seemed odd to quote the sale as not having as much grunt as a month ago.
But auctioneers such as TB White & Son’s Leo White said while results were still strong there were fewer major buyers present and bidding did not flow as easily as the feature sale held in May.
“A month ago if you asked $1900 on a pen of steers there was three blokes wanting them and you would get $1980,’’ Mr White said.
“This sale didn’t have quite as many buyers and wasn’t as animated, although the end- price results were very similar.’’
Quality played a role, with plainer spring drop steers in the yarding as local vendors facing up to a cold, wet winter decided to chase the money of $1000 plus that seems available for any calves over 200kg.
Most steers had been weighed by agents, and on a liveweight basis the sale remained in the range of recent store markets across the state.
Agents quoted the heaviest grown steers from 390c/kg to 430c/kg, with most of the yearling-type Angus steers trending around the 450c/kg mark and creeping higher as weights became lighter.
There were still cases of 500c/kg plus steers in the lighter calves.
Feedlots and South Gippsland bullock producers were the main competitors in the opening pens.
The top price was $2250 for a pen of rising 20-month-old Angus steers from the Toohey family, which were already in bullock weight category at 628kg.
Their brothers, at 530kg, made $2050 and were more representative of the general liveweight trend at 386c/kg.
Agents said the best spring- drop weaners with a lot of weight sold to $1760, with the bulk of sales from $1200 to $1500 per head.
Ballarat will hold a feature sale of heifers this Friday.
MORE
MORTLAKE BOASTS NEARLY 5000-STRONG YARDING
Eastern market booming
See how the restocker movement on the east coast is having an affect on cattle in the west.
Only way is up for cattle rate
Cattle prices continue to rise week after week. But producers are beginning to wonder, how high can prices go? Here’s what the industry experts have to say.