Australian cattle prices reach new record high

Cattle and bull prices have charged ahead this week, with expectations now building for ‘above normal’ returns until 2023.

Rennylea Angus has been one of the studs to see huge increases in their average prices for bulls.

Nobody thought cattle and bull prices would go as high as what the beef sector has witnessed in the past 72 hours.

Spring bull sales, young cattle returns and even rates for old cows.

But such are the unique set of drivers colliding at the moment, the sweet spot for producers with stock to sell, the rewards are there.

Here are a few highlights:

* The key benchmark price, the Eastern States Young Cattle Indicator has reached 1031.5c/kg carcass weight; more than 240c/kg the same period last year.

* The National Livestock Reporting Service recorded price rises of up to 30c/kg on a fortnight ago in today’s prime market at Swan Hill where export meat buyers were keen to secure cows and manufacturing steers. The main run of heavy beef cows sold from 378c to 428c/kg livesweight, to average 406c/kg or more than $2900 a head.

* Ardrossan Angus at Talmalmo in NSW sold a bull for $60,000 to Bannaby Angus, Taralga, and in all 102 for an average price of $14,470. Last spring, their bulls made $8,726.

* Wirrua Poll Herefords sold 58 bulls for an average of $16,190 – more than double last spring’s sale that averaged $7,795 per sire.

* Today all 168 Angus bulls offered sold at Rennylea near Culcairn, NSW, today, posting an average of $15,690 for the Corrigan family. This was about $3000 above the results for the stud in both its autumn and spring auctions. The Rennylea top bull went to McRae Pastoral, which operates properties across several states. Other trends noted were a lift in demand for low birth weight, high growth bulls.

The unrelenting rise in the cattle market, has analysts scratching their heads.

Thomas Elder Markets commodity markets insights manager Matt Dalgleish said while he had predicted the EYCI to peak at around 950-975c/kg, the strength of the heavy steer market had forced the value higher again.

“Once heavy steers got to around 400c/kg liveweight, we saw there was still further room for the young cattle price to go up,” he said.

“Whether it now tops at what, 1050c or 1075c, I’m not sure.”

This peak may not come until October-November, he said, when greater numbers of young store cattle came onto the market.

Mr Dalgleish said it could still be a year and a half away, 2023, before that heavy steer price – what producers growing out young cattle could expect to receive at the other end – eased off to more like 300c/kg, and when cattle prices would return to “more normal” levels.

While some export markets — such as the US – were showing some resistance to the high Australian beef prices, other Asian markets were not showing as much price sensitivity. Mr Dalgleish attributed much of this to the global protein shortage, but also Meat and Livestock Australia’s work in recent years shoring up targeted, premium markets for high end products.

The strength of the commercial cattle returns, the need for new sires to service rebuilding drought-recovering herds, and the remarkably good seasonal conditions in many areas of Australia was feeding the confidence of bidders at bull sales.

In further bull sale results, many NSW studs have held record sales in recent days, where averages are up 80 per cent on last year.

Coffin Creek Angus near Mudgee, NSW set a new stud average record achieving a $17,292 average – up $5481 from their previously held average of last year and more than triple their 2019 average of $5714.

The stud achieved a full clearance of their 48 bulls on offer and topped at $30,000 in a knockout sale that “shocked” stud owners Harry and Jack White.

“We’re just blown away to be honest. It was a brilliant sale; the top price was $30,000 and the bottom price was $10,000 and it was really solid just the whole way through,” stud co-principal Jack White said.

Last-minute sale exemptions from the strict NSW lockdowns had many studs holding their breath until the last minute.

Stud principal Matt Kelley from Warragundi Pastoral Herefords said they were somewhat disappointed with the impact of the restrictions on the sale but still returned healthy prices.

Warragundi sold 18 of their 30 bulls on offer to a top of $14,000 and an average of $8555 – surpassing last year’s average by $3264 and adding $4000 to the top price.

“The restrictions definitely hit us and the numbers just didn’t materialise as we’d hoped so that knocked us about a bit,” Mr Kelley said.

“It’s a stronger sale than last year but had we not had these Covid restrictions we might have been able to step up even more.

Other record-breaking NSW studs to sell last week also included Coolie Angus who sold 48 bulls to full clearance with a new stud record top of $27,000 and stud record average of $11,438.

KO Angus also set a new stud record average at $14,106 for their 57 bulls also sold to full clearance, topping at $32,000. The new stud records smashed their averages from last year by well over $3000 and trampled their 2019 sale averages by at least $7000.

Karoo Angus also set a new record stud average, achieving $14,868 for 76 bulls sold to full clearance and topping at $34,000. They buried their last years average by almost $5000.