Medium cow prices on the rise as restockers begin poaching processors

A shift in buying habits, where older cows usually sold for processing are instead bought for restocking, has swollen prices significantly.

A fight for females between processors and restockers in prime markets is pushing medium cow rates to a new high.

The national medium cow indicator hit 387c/kg liveweight last week but peaked at 459c/kg in NSW as restockers turn to prime markets to secure numbers.

During the past week, restockers have bought between 15-27 per cent of all the manufacturing cows in eastern states saleyards.

But at Dubbo, NSW, last week, producers bought more than half of the yarding of medium cows, stock usually destined for processing.

Processors and producers are competing in a vastly depleted market, with cow numbers through saleyards year to date sitting at 90,310 — 46 per cent lower than the same period last year.

Meat and Livestock Australia market information manager Stephen Bignell said restockers were now a force in the medium cow market.

“It is mostly old breeders which fit into this medium cow category, but it seems restockers could be buying these with the hope of getting one more calf out of them,” Mr Bignell said.

“Old cows are selling at about 100c/kg less than the younger ones in the prime markets, and while they may cost more on a dollar-a-head basis, they are still seen as better buying by some.”

Elders Albury livestock manager Brett Shea said restockers were most likely buying cows to fatten and sell in winter as an alternative to finishing steers.

“Cows are probably the only category of cattle at the moment where you can sell at a higher cents-a-kilogram rate than you can buy them at,” Mr Shea said.

“If you can put on 150-200kg on a store condition cow and also get more cents-a-kilogram than you bought them out, it’s a good outcome.”

Meanwhile, prices continue to skyrocket for breeding females, including on AuctionsPlus.

Late last week, a draft of more than 1000 Te Mania-blood females grossed more than $4 million to average $3965 at the Team Te Mania online auction.

Te Mania director Hamish McFarlane said the sale reflected the demand for quality genetics in females.

“It wasn’t that many years ago when we would have thought a bull sale averaging around $4000 for maybe 100 bulls would have been a good day out — but this was for more than 1000 females,” he said.