Tight supply lifts cattle prices, but lamb steady to weaker

The lead-up to Easter has sparked a surge in prices for young cattle, while the export market for big lambs remains dull.

Yard talk: There is plenty to catch up on at the pens, and this Ballarat store cattle sale proved a good opportunity to discuss the continuing rise of the cattle market.

PRICES  for young cattle surged at southern saleyards amid tight supplies and the pressure of looming market disruptions from Easter.

Gains of 10c to 20c per kilogram liveweight were recorded for top quality vealers and tradeweight steers and heifers in Victoria on Monday, with more calves pushing above 500c/kg liveweight.

However, the export market remained difficult to read with reports major buyers were absent from some auctions, particularly in northern NSW where there was some cheaper rates reported for cows and bullocks.

Restockers have also re-entered the market in stronger form after the widespread rain, driving the Eastern Young Cattle Indicator to a new record of 896.5c/kg carcass weight equivalent on Monday night.

In the south the buzz was all around young cattle.

At Pakenham the best vealer steers, sired by Limousin and Charolais bulls and showing a lot of muscle and shape, sold from 500c to a top of 516c/kg lwt. It meant there was calves making nearly $1400 per head, the NLRS reported.

The pick of the vealer heifers made from 460c to 500c/kg, with agents remarking that some of the biggest price gains were seen over average quality calves as domestic processors chased numbers.

But in reality 500c sales to meat buyers still remain fairly limited, with markets tending to be dominated by feedlot and store buyers.

At Wagga Wagga in NSW the main run of heavy yearling steers, 400kg plus, to feedlots averaged 462c/kg lwt, gaining 7c to push over $2000 per head.

The NLRS said similar weighted feeder heifers jumped by 20c to an average of 440c/kg lwt to average close to steers at $1964.

Feedlot demand has also been dominating major store sales, with agents at Leongatha in Gippsland reporting that a big chunk of last Thursday’s special market had sold to grain feeders. Supply remains the key factor behind the boom results, with rain tightening already tight numbers. And despite the looming Easter break that will cancel many sales in the next week due to public holidays, there was no lift in numbers that usually happens before an extended break.

There was 959 cattle yarded at Pakenham on Monday, 340 less than a week ago; just 393 at Mortlake, or 450 less; and 2000 at Wagga Wagga, down 400.

In the export run, there was still some excellent results posted for heavy cows at southern markets at 300c to 330c/kg lwt. There was also better results for grown steers at Pakenham, although the heaviest bullocks over 600kg still averaged below 400c at an average of 395c/kg, with weight pushing the dollar per head average close to $2600.

NO LAMB GAINS AS PROCESSORS SIT BACK

LAMB prices remain affected by big supplies rolling directly to processors, with saleyard prices showing little improvement in the lead-up to Easter.

Heavy lamb prices just held or were weaker at major southern saleyards on Monday as key buyers were again quiet due to reports of most processors having plentiful supplies of stock around them.

The highlight in early trading this week was mutton, with rates kicking over 700c/kg cwt for light and medium weight sheep amid low numbers after the widespread rain.

It meant some sheep were making similar carcass rates to the heaviest crossbred lambs.

On the hunt: Riverina agent Adam Boyd, of Wagga Regional Livestock, was buying lambs in Victoria this week.

At Bendigo on Monday the top price of $278 was for a pen of super-sized crossbred lambs that had been weighed on farm at over 90kg liveweight, to suggest they would work out less than 700c/kg when processed.

Bidding for extra heavy lambs has been dull in the past week, with a lot coming forward at these big weights, but meeting restricted export demand. Supermarkets have also been buying less, taking pressure off those 27-28kg cwt lambs they often compete on.

The NLRS described selling as “erratic’’ on heavy lambs at Wagga Wagga in the Riverina last Thursday, with the main run of 30kg plus crossbreds averaging 738c/kg or $257 a head.

This aligns with the dollar per head average of $255 out of Bendigo on Monday for similar weighted lambs, which were listed at 750c/kg on slightly less overall weight.

At Corowa on Monday biggest export lambs sold to $245, and were also quoted at 750c.

In dollar terms most crossbred lambs over 30kg cwt have been tracking from $230 to $265 a head.

Underneath these is the heavy lambs, 25-29kg, at $190 to $225 for most.

Genuine trade lambs in the nicely weighted band of 20-24kg and displaying good fat cover have been making premiums of up to 860c/kg.

But as a ballpark, most slaughter lambs have tracked between 750c and 820c/kg in the past week, with Merinos selling strongly to be a similar carcass rates to some crossbreds.

Prices for restocking lambs have risen. The NLRS listed the average small restocking lamb at over $10/kg cwt equivalent in NSW this past week, against a ballpark of 900c in Victoria.

Mutton has shown gains, with the national average pushing towards 690c/kg cwt.

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