Leongatha store cattle sale: Heifers match it up with steers
Prices for heifers at Leongatha have been almost on par with their male counterparts on price during the latest, large store cattle sale there, where a 3300-strong yarding drew a big crowd.
IT WAS a case of big money for little cattle at Friday’s Leongatha store sale, where steers between 350-450kg in weight maintained recent strong price trends.
The big yarding of 3300 steers and heifers drew a large crowd, and although bidding was sluggish in the opening run of pens, vendors made returns from 466c/kg up as high as 567c/kg in places.
The pen that made 567c/kg was for 12 Angus steers by producers J & S Kelly, weighing 280kg and returning $1590.
Local agents moved on cattle in the mid-300kg range, while feedlots, Coles, and commission buyers such as Duncan Brown and Campbell Ross jostled for heavier cattle.
A number of pens of heavy steers, exceeding 500kg in weight, still made impressive returns despite the heat in the market emanating from the lightweight cattle.
One pen of six Angus steers by producer Cameron Hill weighing 581kg made $2360 or 406c/kg.
In the heifer portion of the sale, the pens were almost on-par with their male counterparts on price, with the young females selling from 303kg to 387kg, making returns from 450c/kg up to 500c/kg.
One pen of Angus heifers from producers F and C Cameron, on Phillip Island, weighing as little as 280kg, returned $1450 or 517c/kg.
The heavier the heifers, the softer prices were, with females weighing close to 500kg making returns of about 377c/kg.
Nutrien Leongatha livestock agent Eddie Hams echoed the sentiment of producers lining the rails at the sale, noting the enduring strength of the market in recent months.
“I thought it was very strong. It’s gone to another level, that’s what I feel,” he said.
“The feedlots are taking cattle. Here at Leongatha more than half went to feedlots.
“ There was strong demand from local graziers, but unless they can beat the feedlots, they can’t buy anything. The cents per kilogram rate, it’s very high prices to buy at.”
Mr Hams said it was all “a numbers game” when it came to the balance between stock available to buy and the amount of feed on the ground.
“There’s no cattle about, the numbers aren’t about,” Mr Hams said.
“Once they come back things will be cheaper, but it won’t be in the short term.
“All the cattle were nice and fresh, and had plenty of weight.”
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