Hamilton weaner sale 2021: Astonishing prices for calves
It was a tale of big weights, a big crowd, and big money at the Hamilton weaner calf sale. Here’s the latest from the saleyards.
BIG money, big calf weights and a big crowd at Hamilton today all combined to create what many sale watchers called one of the best Angus steer sales ever held.
Prices reached a top of $2143 as three breeders with genuine March/April drop steer calves weighing in excess of 400kg pocketed over $2000.
The average for the sale was $1744 across 3643 calves sold as the price rate on a weight
basis pushed to an impressive 494c/kg.
“It is the strongest sale I’ve ever seen," said Queensland-based Kellco Dalby livestock agent Brendan Kelly, who set the pace on the opening pens of heavy EU accredited steers, paying to 508c for a feature line of 86 calves from Brett and Angela Linke, Mt Napier, which weighed 360kg.
Auctioneer for Kerr&Co, Zac Van Wegen, described the sale as one out of the box.
“It was outstanding, exceptional … way better than we had expected,’’ he said.
“To have heavy calves making over 480c/kg is just ridiculous really.’’
Many southern agents had braced themselves for a 440c/kg to 480c/kg price range, and were left struggling when the bulk of the calves made from 470c/kg to 520c/kg.
The sale recorded a top of 554c/kg for calves weighing 235kg and sold into NSW.
This put the market 30c above the early weaner sales held pre-Christmas.
The biggest crowd in recent years followed the sale, and there were plenty of faces from interstate including buyers such as Greg Darmody from Gibb & Co at Queenbeyean near Canberra who rushed across the border before the New Year and had spent the past week staying in Victoria just so they could access the southern weaner markets.
Top price honours at $2314 went to the Coffey Partnership for 25 Angus steers that weighed 445.6kg and made 481c/kg, selling to Kellco.
The Kellco order bought all three lots over $2000, and spent around $900,000 on nearly
500 steers.
Mr Kelly said they were working on a freight cost of around 28c per kilo, which would put
the cost of the calves above 500c/kg landed to the Wonga Feedlot near Dalby.
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