Wodonga calf sales: Day three sees prices continue to rise
Price rates for Hereford weaners at the Wodonga calf sale matched the strength of recent Angus sales. Here’s the latest from the yards.
THE weaner price juggernaut continued at Wodonga today with steer rates reaching 609c/kg and heifers 555c/kg in the offering of whiteface and Euro-cross cattle.
The yarding of 1344 cattle grossed $2.367 million and averaged $1761, a lift on the day before, with some vendors doubling the returns they received a year ago at the same sales.
One northern buyer told The Weekly Times he had orders for more than 700 feeder cattle but was struggling to fill them on the money he had been allocated.
“Every night I ring up and tell them the prices and they say they are too dear, then they ring up the next morning and give me $100 (a head) more to get numbers,” he said.
Rates were judged every bit as good as the Angus weaner sale prices, with steers 350- 400kg making 450-500c/kg, and lighter steers consistently making 500c/kg and more.
The sale’s top weaner price of $1980 was paid for a pen of 17 Charolais-Angus, 448kg, or 442c/kg for the tops of A Turnball’s steers.
The second pen, of 17 weighing 417kg, made $1870 or 448c/kg.
The European-cross cattle, many of which carried more weight, made $1715-$1870 or 430-475c/kg.
The sale featured lines of Hereford cattle, which topped at $1845 for 22 Herefords weighing 384kg sold by M and A Goonan, working back at 480c/kg. The demand for lighter cattle pushed prices for their second draft up, returning 523c/kg for their next pen of 331kg steers which sold for $1730.
The willingness to pay more for lighter cattle was again shown in bidding for the annual draft from Sleigh Pastoral Company, Ruffy.
The top pen, at 391kg, made $1845 (472c/kg); the next pen weighing 344kg made $1815 (528c/kg) and the lightest pen, at 291kg, made $1635 (562c/kg).
And it was one of the lightest pens in the three days of sales which achieved the top cents a kilogram to date.
The pen of 256kg Hereford steers sold by Cecily Trickett from Morven, NSW, made $1560 or
609c/kg.
Her other pens made $1785 (345kg, 517c/kg) and $1700 (310kg, 548c/kg).
Robert Hiscock from Kilmore spread his bets by offering some cattle at Wodonga today and yarding the remainder for Yea’s fixture tomorrow.
His top pen of 13 weighing 362kg made $1810 or 500c/kg with the next pen of 30 weighing 318kg selling for $1765 or 555c/kg.
Mr Hiscock’s cattle averaged $870 last year and more than double this year at $1779.
“You would need a bullet if you weren’t happy with prices today,” Mr Hiscock said.
The small offering of heifers matched the high rates set at earlier sales, with the best price 555c/kg paid for a pen of Herefords weighing 229kg, which returned $1260 for vendor Cecily Trickett.
Several other pens of heifers made more than 500c/kg including 34 Limousin-cross (348kg, $1750, 503c/kg); 14 Hereford (280kg, $1455, 520c/kg) and 12 Hereford (282kg, $1450, 514c/kg).
The balance of heifers made 440-480c/kg.
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QUALITY ON SHOW AT THIRD HAMILTON SALE
DAY THREE – STEER WEANERS
A Turnbull: 17 Charolais-Angus, 448kg, $19890 (442c/kg); 17, 417kg, $1870 (448c/kg).
Kohlhagen Family: 9 Charolais, 442kg, $1905 (431c/kg); 12, 399kg, $1850 (464c/kg).
Granite Flat Pastoral: 22 black baldies, EU-accredited, 412kg, $1880 (456c/kg); 15,365kg, $1780 (488c/kg).
P&R Caldwell: 12 Charolais-Angus, 432kg, $1870 (433c/kg).
Erkstine: 10 Charolais, 430kg, $1860 (433c/kg).
G Hore: 6 Hereford, 400kg, $1850 (463c/kg); 11, 325kg, $1700 (523c/kg); 7, 266kg, $1590 (598c/kg).
M&A Goonan: 22 Hereford, 384kg, $1845 (480c/kg); 23, 331kg, $1730 (523c/kg).
Sleigh Pastoral: 14 Hereford, 391kg, $1845 (472c/kg); 43, 344kg, $1815 (528c/kg); 14, 291kg, $1635 (562c/kg).
J Hiscock: 13 Hereford, 362kg, $1810 (500c/kg); 30, 318kg, $1765 (555c/kg).
D&V McCallum: 20 Hereford, 364kg, $1810 (497c/kg).
W Wallace: 12 Limousin-cross, 404kg, $1905 (447c/kg).
B&A Kelly: 19 Hereford, 357kg, $1800 (504c/kg).
Cecily Trickett: 25 Hereford, 345kg, $1785 (517c/kg); 21, 310kg, $1700 (548c/kg); 20, 256kg, $1560 (609c/kg).
H&R Long: 28 Hereford, 353kg, $1765 (500c/kg); 28, 313kg, $1725 (551c/kg).
Day three – heifer weaners
P&R Caldwell: 7 Charolais-Angus, 423kg, $1820 (430c/kg); 9, 370kg, $1710 (462c/kg).
Kohlhagen Family: 11 Charolais, 391kg, $1820 (465c/kg); 8, 342kg, $1600 (468c/kg).
A&M Palmer: 17 Angus-Santa Gertrudis, 419kg, $1780 (424c/kg).
M Halverson: 15 Shorthorn, 436kg, $1770 (406c/kg)
W Wallace: 7 Limousin-cross, 411kg, $1750 (426c/kg).
S Morant: 34 Limousin-cross, 348kg, $1750 (503c/kg).
Granite Flat Pastoral: 11 black baldies, EU-accredited, 382kg, $1725 (452c/kg); 12, 331kg, $1560 (471c/kg).
B&B Bourke: 11 Charolais-Angus, 379kg, $1680 (443c/kg).
A&M Palmer: 5 Angus-cross, 374kg, $1675 (448c/kg).
Erkstine Pastoral: 7 Shorthorn, 358kg, $1670 (466c/kg).
G&S Balden: 6 Angus-cross, 337kg, $1600 (475c/kg); 15 Shorthorn, 322kg, $1550 (481c/kg); 10 Shorthorn, 291kg, $1520 (522c/kg).
N Mckenzie: 12 Shorthorn, 301kg, $1540 (512c/kg).
B Prichard: 18 Hereford, 322kg, $1535 (477c/kg); 8, 280kg, $1350 (482c/kg).
Cecily Trickett: 15 Hereford, 319kg, $1510 (473c/kg); 15, 273kg, $1405 (515c/kg); 9, 229kg, $1250 (550c/kg).
G Hore: 14 Hereford, 280kg, $1455 (520c/kg).
Sleigh Pastoral: 12 Hereford, 282kg, $1450 (514c/kg).
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