Euroa weaner sale: Online bids drive heifer marker
Online bids through AuctionsPlus helped drive the heifer portion of the Euroa weaner sale beyond 700c/kg in places. Here’s what happened.
STRONG competition from online bids for heifers and a general softening of steer prices compared to the opening week of weaner sales was all anybody could talk about at yesterday’s Euroa sale.
Prices recorded at last week’s Yea weaner calf sale quickly became the yardstick against which producers measured the success of the sale, with many noting a softening of about $100 a head compared to last week.
The yarding of just over 2000 steers and heifers drew a smaller than anticipated crowd, with agents from Mansfield and Euroa vying again commission buyer Andrew Lowe and bids from Auctions Plus for pens of steers weighing between 300-350kg, making returns from 371c/kg to 520c/kg.
The average price across the sale was $1625, with an average weight of 342.81, making an average price of 474c/kg across the sale, and a gross of $3.31 million.
The lighter the cattle were, the greater the prices, with buyers jostling against the rails to snap up lighter calves.
Pens of weaner steers, both Hereford’s and Angus breeds, weighing 260-280kg made returns from 505c/kg up to 560c/kg.
One of the dearer pens of the sale, 12 Hereford steers by vendor Keith Dean at Briggs Creek, made $1520 or 567c/kg.
In the heifer portion of the sale, strong competition from AuctionsPlus drove heifer weaner prices close to and beyond 500c/kg.
One pen of weaner Angus heifers, weighing 210kg sold to $1480, or 704c/kg.
Heifer weaner calves weighing from 319kg up to 410kg made returns from 426c/kg up as high as 511c/kg.
The young woman from Auctions Plus fielding bids via the phone often outbid Andrew Lowe, who stepped away from the rails as cattle was secured at high prices for bidders online.
Elders Euroa livestock agent Joe Allen said the yarding had “a lot of weight”, with many weaner steers in excess of 350kg.
“They were met with pretty good prices, and similar trends to what we saw last week,” Mr Allen said.
“It was quite evident people are buying on a dollars per head basis. In December $1600 was about the limit, then we had rain this month in the north, and you’re working off about $1700 a head.”
Mr Allen said the presence of strong bids from Auctions Plus drove prices in the heifer portion of the sale.
“It influenced the heifer market … Auctions Plus bought about 260 cattle in total, it was worthwhile having them there,” Mr Allen said.
Cattle purchased on the day went into the New England region of NSW, parts of Victoria including Mansfield, Euroa and Colac, as well as far north as a feedlot in Goondiwindi in Queensland.
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