Cold conditions affect cattle quality, lamb subdued

Heading into winter, clearance rates for store cattle are falling and lamb prices are faring no better, struggling to gain momentum.

Colder weather was starting to make its mark on quality at the Pakenham store cattle sale. Picture: Chloe Smith

The cattle market is starting to show signs of breaking up around animal quality and condition as more yardings started to the show the signs of the colder and dry weather.

Price patterns on Monday were linked to whether cattle were fit for slaughter or of borderline quality, with the best animals holding their value but plainer types on a softer trend.

It was evident at Pakenham this week where the NLRS reported the best vealers and trade bodies as firm, selling to a top of 510c/kg liveweight while plainer types lacking fat cover lost 5-12c/kg.

Similar trends also appeared in the yearling and grown steer and heifer categories, with off-bred types lacking carcass appeal discounted by 5-10c/kg at many centres.

However to date there has only been mild changes to overall saleyard indicators in the past several days.

At the close of selling on Monday night MLA reported

YEARLING steers at 460c/kg, to be down 2c/kg on late last week

MEDIUM slaughter cows 282c to be down 4c in the past 7 days;

FEEDER steers at 462c/kg, back 6c in the past week; and

HEAVY steers at 378c/kg, down 3c.

Young cattle suiting feedlot and restocking orders are still being well supported, although cracks are starting to appear for store cattle with clearance rates dropping on Auctions­Plus last week as farmers watch the weather and look for more rain.

The main run of heavy feeder steers at Wagga Wagga in the Riverina (400kg plus) sold from 400c to 489c/kg lwt, averaging 466c or 1c less to still average just over $2000 per head.

The heifer portion eased by a similar 2c margin, back to an average of 448c or $1989. There was still some strong sales to the paddock at Wagga Wagga, with well-bred calves continuing to command over 500c/kg.

In the export market competition has been erratic, with not all companies operating fully.

In Victoria cows were quoted as 5c to 15c/kg cheaper, but good beef bodies at other centres were still making over 300c/kg lwt to match recent results at times.

LAMB DEMAND REMAINS SUBDUED

Lamb prices are struggling to gain momentum heading towards winter, with sales remaining flat as the market reopened fully after the Easter break.

With major processors still accessing good numbers of slaughter lambs direct and on forward contracts, plus the season turning dry, saleyard auctions have seen little improvement in the past week.

The national saleyard price averages have all slipped, with the latest data listing heavy lambs at 781c/kg and trade lambs at 806c/kg. Both categories show falls of around 20c/kg in the past week.

All states now appear closely aligned, with a breakdown of the data showing just a small spread of just 760c to 790c/kg across Victoria, NSW and South Australia for the heavier runs of slaughter lambs.

There were some positives to emerge at Bendigo earlier this week, with supermarkets such as Coles and Safeway showing a bit more interest, with competition on heavy export lambs also improving on the dull demand of recent weeks.

Overall price gains, however, were mild at just a few dollars over a lot of lambs, increasing to $10 on some of the export pens sized from 30-33kg cwt, the NLRS said.

Bendigo posted a top price of $285 for an extra heavy pen of crossbred lambs estimated to have a carcass weight between 38kg and 40kg.

Sale results show just two pens of lambs over $270, with most of the heavy exports trading from $235 to $265 a head.

Further north at Corowa in southern NSW heavy lambs sold to $250 in a softer market, while at Dubbo in central NSW they sold to $270 on a lot of weight to record an overall estimate of just 725c/kg cwt for the over 30kg run.

Lamb prices have seen little improvement at saleyard auctions in the past week as major processors continue to maintain their supply. Picture: Chloe Smith

In contrast, light lambs continue to hold their value as restockers still shop for suitable stock to feed for the winter market.

At Bendigo lambs the NLRS said a reasonable number of plain tradeweight lambs, showing frame but lacking fat cover, sold to the paddock at $160 to $175, with occasional sales as high as $186.

The mutton market also softened, with fewer sales above 700c/kg for sheep recorded in the past week.

The national price average is still at a solid 660c/kg, but sales have been more selective on odd lots at saleyards in the past week.

MORE

CATTLE YIELD MIXED RESULTS, LAMB HEADS TOWARDS CHEAPER TREND

PRICE GAP TIGHTENS BETWEEN MUTTON AND LAMB

CATTLE WEIGHT GAINS MAY LEAD TO PRICE PAIN