Mountain Calf Sales: Hinnomunjie, Omeo, Benambra, Ensay
The famed Mountain Calf Sales are over for another year. Check out all the faces and action from sales at Hinnomunjie, Omeo, Benambra and Ensay.
The high country towns of Omeo, Benambra and Ensay have welcomed buyers and visitors from all over Victoria and interstate to the two-day 84th Mountain Calf Sales.
The Weekly Times photographer Yuri Kouzmin was also there to capture all the action.
ENSAY
BENAMBRA
OMEO DAY ONE
HINNOMUNJIE
2024 MOUNTAIN CALF SALES PRICE RESULTS
The 84th Mountain Calf Sales concluded on Wednesday with some of the best prices for weaners coming out of the Omeo Hereford sale.
Elders had a total yarding of 1427 mixed-sex Herefords on offer on the last leg of the two-day sales where steers sold to a top of $1810 and heifers to $1400. The best prices were achieved by two long-time Omeo district breeders.
Peter and Christine Faithfull achieved the $1810 top price in the steer portion for a pen of 19 2022 spring-drop calves.
The Faithfulls’ true weaners were equally sought after. Three pens totalling 84 autumn-drop steers made $1800.
Mr Faithfull also sold 200 mixed-sex Herefords on the day with his best heifers, a pen of 20, making $1340 and another pen of 20 making $1300.
“I’m always happy to get rid of them at this time of the year,” Mr Faithfull said.
“It’s too dry.
“But everyone is in the same boat.
“The prices have come down, but they are coming off a pretty big high.”
The Faithfulls took out the best presented pen for their top steers.
Albury commission buyer Graeme Ward was prominent on the first lane of cattle and snapped up some of the top Faithfull steers.
“They were outstanding cattle,” Mr Ward said.
“Temperament, growth rate, all those things you’re looking for.”
Mr Ward bought 83 head at the Omeo sale for clients including bullock fattening operations in the NSW Central West.
West Gippsland buyer Graham Osborne, who has been targeting the high country sales for two decades, completed a strong two days of buying by adding 197 calves from the Ensay and Omeo sales to the 365 he purchased at Hinnomunjie, Omeo and Benambra on day one.
“I’ve filled up six B-doubles,” Mr Osborne said.
The majority of cattle are all headed for South and West Gippsland.
Some of his purchases included 21 steers, 10-11 months, belonging to Simon and Sonya Lawlor that sold for $1670.
He also bought the top pen of 15 autumn-drop steers from Daniel Betts and Bridget Noonan, which made $1650 and another pen of 20 from Lisa and Greg Lee, which also made $1650.
Steers sold to a high of $2010 last year after the spectacular prices of 2022.
Brendan and Tracey Ah Sam had the sale-topping heifer price of $1400 for 23 Hereford Shorthorn cross heifers with a second pen of 25 making $1310.
Their best steers sold for $1610 and were headed for South Gippsland as part of Mr Osborne’s purchases at the sale.
Mr Ah Sam said the tops of his calves weighed about 420kg and he expected averages for steers and heifers to land in the $1300 to $1400 price range.
“We’ve been lucky over the years with these repeat buyers,” he said.
“Obviously the cattle must perform.
“Back in October we weren’t expecting what we got here today.
“You’ve got to be real.
“It’s been tough up north, but they’re getting rain now.”
ENSAY
Realistic vendor expectations were realised at the Ensay Hereford weaner sale after the dual headwinds of tough conditions midway through last year and a depressed cattle market still in recovery mode.
Barry and Topsy Newcomen achieved the top steer price of $1670 for his lead pen of 20 autumn-drop calves weighing 434kg, with his second pen of 21 steers weighing 383kg selling for $1350.
Evan and Dot Newcomen had the second and third highest prices for pens of 21 and 22 calves which made $1530 and $1500 respectively.
Delaney Livestock was the most active buyer on the sale, filling orders for bullock fattening clients in central and west Gippsland and some north of Melbourne.
The top heifer price of $1290 was attained by Tongio producers, Tony and Joanne Prendergast, for a pen of 20 autumn-drop calves.
“We were pretty pleased after where the market got to last year,” Tony said.
“It was a bit worrying.
“The season dried out so much and we were lucky to get rain at the beginning of October and November.”
The second best price on the heifers was a pen of 21 roan-coloured Herefords offered by Evan and Dot Newcomen.
They made $1280, with a third pen of 26 put forward by Reece and Wendy Newcomen making $1230 and another pen of 22 from Barry and Topsy Newcomen making $1180.
Barry Newcomen said it was a “good, solid sale”.
“Our top pen sold well,” he said.
“They had a lot of weight and did look well.”
The top prices for steers and heifers at last year’s sale made more than $2000.
A well-known face in the crowd was AFL legend Kevin Sheedy, who was a guest speaker at an annual producers and buyers dinner on Tuesday night.
“My father is from Bruthen and I like to get around and have a look at what happens in our state,” he said.
“This is a fantastic area to understand the differences between people in the country and people in city.”
BENAMBRA
Long-time high country breeders Richard and Anne Faithfull produced the top-priced pens of Hereford steers and heifers at the final sale of day one action at the 84th Mountain Calf Sales.
The couple have been putting forward high quality young cattle for decades from their Beloka property with their top pen of 33 autumn-drop steers selling for $1760 and their 24 heifers also topping the market at $1250.
Their steers were also judged the best presented pen.
Competition on the lead lane, where cattle weighing from 380kg to 420kg sold for up to 380c/kg, matched the warm conditions.
Many vendors had multiple pens of steers sell strongly before prices began to dip under $1000.
The Faithfulls had a pen of 30 make $1200 and another pen of 12 make $1050.
“We’re really happy,” Richard said.
“But I haven’t really been following the sales.
“The season has been really good here until the last two or three weeks.
“It’s got dry.”
John and Amanda Pendergast’s best pen fell just short of the top price at $1730 for 30 autumn-drop steers.
They had another pen of 34 steers sell for $1340 and another pen of 10 steers for $1050.
Their best-priced steers sold for $850.
Russell and Steph Cornall’s best price was $1630 for 29 steers with two other pens making more than $1000.
Russell and Merilyn Pendergast sold 15 Hereford steers for $1460 and another pen of 21 for $1340.
Ray and Max Pendergast sold 14 steers for $1390 and the duo also had the second-best heifer price of the sale at $1150 for a pen of 12.
The top price for true weaners 12 months ago was $1810 and slightly less, $1380, for heifers with the latter also sold by the Faithfulls.
Elders Omeo manager David Hill said there were “good results” all around.
“Genuine calves only born in May making $1700 is a pretty good result,” he said.
“Cattle have had green grass all their lives here.
“It’s only been the last two or three weeks it has dried out.
“It’s been a late summer and that is typical.”
He said calves weighing 260kg to 280kg made between $950 and $1100 as the bulk of the offering were again snapped up by Victorian buyers who had been prominent at the two earlier sales at Hinnomunjie and Omeo.
Elders Yea livestock manager Jamie Quinlan bought roughly 10 per cent of the yarding for clients in the Yea and Yarra Glen regions, predominantly for backgrounding purposes.
Alex Scott & Staff agents from Warragul and Pakenham also chimed in on the action as did Leongatha-based Nutrien agent Brian McCormack and Elders Pakenham agent Doug Peachey.
OMEO ANGUS SALE
Prices were slightly down on last year’s rates at the Omeo Angus weaner sale on Tuesday with buyers playing a “cautious game” with the market still in recovery mode.
The sale’s top price of $1700 was paid for a pen of 16 steers offered by Swifts Creek producers Alan and Sharon Sheean and their son Robbie, who didn’t sell at the corresponding sale last year.
The steers aged 16-17 months were bought by Graham Osborne with another pen of eight older steers also selling for $1480.
The best price for true weaners was $1570 for 24 autumn-drop steers from Benambra’s Clive and Dianne Anderson.
The top price at last year’s sale was $1810 for a pen of older steers sold by Daniel and Martine Plowman from Cobungra, whose top two pens this year – of 14 and 13 older steers – made $1550 and $1600 respectively on Tuesday.
Bruce Commins from Meringo Pastoral near Swifts Creek also sold a big run of 220 16-month-old steers and heifers with the best of the steers being $1590 per head for a pen of 25.
His heifers sold to a top of $1250 per head with Jamie Quinlan the successful purchaser.
“We sell the majority of our steers about the time when the season starts to dry out,” Mr Commins said.
“But the cattle we sold today made $500 more than they did in November.”
The heaviest of his steers and heifers were around the 400kg mark.
Mr Quinlan was active on the sale buying for clients from Yarra Glen to Yea.
“I think the sale has been quite strong,” he said.
“The heavier cattle, the ones over 300kg or better, have sold to the same if not dearer rates than they would at a weekly selling centre.
“People are still feeling the effects of the crash last year.
“Everyone is playing a cautious game, but it is a hell of a lot better than it was six months ago.”
HINNOMUNJIE
Hinnomunjie has set the pace at the opening of the 84th Mountain Calf Sales, with prices quoted as $200 to $300 better than last year.
The sales at Hinnomunjie, Omeo, Benambra and Ensay are the grand final for high country breeders, with 9000 cattle to go under the hammer this week.
The region endured a sustained dry spell midway through last year before bouncing back with good rainfall from October leading to predictions the spring-drop calves will be the pick of the lots on offer.
Omeo has also had above-average rainfall for January and February with a combined amount of 145.4mm for the last two months of summer.
Selling at Hinnomunjie opened this morning, and vendors sold 1100 cattle with a strong crowd of buyers at the rail.
The auction achieved a top price of $2000 (313c/kg) for 12 2022 spring-drop Hereford steers, which weighed 637kg on the farm and were offered by longtime vendor Donald Betts of Benambra. The cattle were bought by Jamie Quinlan of Elders at Yea.
The top price last year was $1780 a head, compared with 2022’s record-breaking $2400.
AG and SM Pendergast sold 12 Hereford steers for $1620 to Alan Mitchell of Leongatha. The best-presented pen went to Benambra breeders Peter and Sue Soutter, who offered 18 Hereford steers, which later sold for $1440.
In the heifer section, it was again Mr Betts who topped the market with Hereford females, weighing 522kg on farm and making a high of $1440 (275c/kg).
Genuine weaners made $1500, sold by Gus and Sandra Crisp.
Nutrien manager at Bairnsdale, Brad Obst, said the sale was a reflection of current market conditions.
“The better cattle were very keenly sought after,” he said.
“Some of the smaller cattle and lesser bred cattle came off the boil.”
The benchmark Eastern Young Cattle Indicator was trending at 629.29c/kg on Tuesday morning, just 2c/kg lower than a week ago.
And the restocker yearling steer indicator was at 372c/kg liveweight, up 14c/kg on a week ago, but down a couple of cents in its daily movement.
This time last year the EYCI as 68.37c/kg higher.
The EYCI for Victoria is 549.90c/kg, a 135.30c/kg drop in the past 12 months.
While cattle prices have generally been steady for the past month, the hot, dry February and start to autumn could start to have an impact on rates as larger numbers are sold.
Larger numbers have been sold at both store and prime markets in the past week, with 1000 more than expected at Pakenham’s prime market on Monday and 500 more than originally drawn for at Yea’s store sale late last week.
Elders will sell 5300 steers and 2700 heifers across four sales this week with Bairnsdale livestock manager Morgan Davies declaring confidence had returned after the tough months of next to no rain last year.
“Confidence is cruising along,” he said.
“The spring drop cattle are really, really good.
“We’re coming off a pretty low base of where we were.
“We’re realistic about our expectations and hoping for a good result.”
Barry Newcomen will have one of the biggest yardings of the two-day sales of 220 Hereford and Hereford-Shorthorn calves at Ensay where he has been selling cattle for more than 50 years.
“We’re very happy with the way our cattle look,” he said.
“We’ve weighed them and the top pen is going to weigh well over 400kg.”
PICTURE GALLERY
Join the conversation
Sharp rise in cow prices reflects US demand
Australian cow prices are rising, fuelled by strong US beef demand and a favourable exchange rate. See what it means for sellers.
Read more
Study finds no change to soil from multi-species pasture
Research into soil health has thrown up some interesting results on straight ryegrass pastures compared with mixes.
Read more