How to earn 27 per cent more for your cattle

Angus cattle are not only popular but are earning premiums over other breeders according to analysis of online sales.

Breed-by-breed analysis of results from AuctionsPlus has shown Angus cattle continue to dominate the top prices on the online selling platform.

While all prices were back 5-10 per cent in the September quarter compared to the prior three-month-period, Angus sold at a premium to Hereford and Charolais by as much as 27 per cent in some categories.

Picture: Zoe Phillips

But in an interesting twist, the average for Angus heifers in the 280-330kg weight range of $2128 was higher than the Angus steers which averaged $2034.

AuctionsPlus senior analyst Damien Thomson said average prices for purebred Angus cattle were down 5.7 per cent from the previous quarter, but were 2.8 per cent higher than the corresponding quarter in 2021.

“In the September quarter, the Angus heifers listed on AuctionsPlus weighing 280-330kg liveweight averaged $2,128, – an increase of 8.5 per cent on the same period in 2021,” Mr Thomson said.

This was a $448 premium for Angus heifers over similar weight Hereford and Charolais heifers, which both averaged $1680.

Angus steers in a similar weight range (280-330kg) made $352 more than Charolais which averaged $1682 and $190 more than Herefords which averaged $1847.

Mr Thomson said Angus continued to be the most represented breed across AuctionsPlus cattle sales, with the heartland through the NSW Northern Tablelands (Walcha and Armidale)

while Holbrook in the NSW Riverina was another hot spot.

“The past five years has seen the Angus breed spread further north into Central Queensland and further south into south west Victoria and south east South Australia,” Mr Thomson said.