Cattle prices: ‘Grass fever without the grass’

Sharp price rises of more than 100c/kg liveweight have been recorded for young cattle at Victorian store sales despite paddocks only having a green winter tinge.

Sharp price rises of more than 100c/kg liveweight have been recorded for young cattle at Victorian store sales despite paddocks only having a green winter tinge.

Select pens of light Angus steer weaners sold above 600c/kg at Ballarat last week as southern buyers stepped back into the market amid what some agents are calling FOMO – fear of missing out.

It follows a steady decline in store cattle numbers at major selling centres since Victoria began receiving some bursts of winter rainfall in June.

After auctioneering at Ballarat on Friday, TB White & Sons agent Leo White said it had been one of the most dramatic month-on-month price gains for store cattle he could recall.

“It was a big, big rise,” Mr White said.

“There were cattle which were easily 100c/kg dearer than last month – we had Angus steer calves at 258kg which made $1600.

“The thing that has done it is the drop in numbers.”

There were less than 2500 cattle at Ballarat last week, down from the 4500 and 5500 head capacity yardings recorded across autumn and in June when cattle were sold early due to a lack of feed.

Numbers have also dropped away at other key selling centres including Wodonga, Leongatha, Yea and Euroa in recent weeks.

TDC livestock agent Matt Treglown from Penola, South Australia, purchased store cattle last week and said people who were destocked to low numbers were getting apprehensive about getting some cattle back into paddocks before the anticipated spring.

“I think it is FOMO at the moment,” he said.

“Our area has done it tough and it is still tough enough but some people are starting to step into the market. It all comes down to the amount of cattle which have been sold and have left areas like the Western District.’’

Other buyers were more blunt, expressing surprise at how quickly the market had rallied on a season which is still highly dependent on more wet weather and timely rain in August and September.

“It’s grass fever without the grass,” quipped one feedlot buyer.

But the price gains were universal last week, including at Leongatha and Mortlake where some heifers were up to 170c/kg dearer, suggesting a genuine shift in store values across the south.

The most explosive price gains have been for lighter weight steers and heifers as farmers try to purchase to dollar-a-head limits. As an example Angus yearling heifers under 330kg averaged 140c/kg dearer at Mortlake, averaging $1309 a head at an average cost of 459c/kg, according to data from the National Livestock Reporting Service.