Signs the beleaguered cattle market could have bottomed out

In positive news for the cattle market given its recent troubles, prices came up somewhat at Yea today. Full sale details here.

Some positives emerged for the beleaguered store stock scene at Yea today, with young cattle prices holding steady and light heifer and steer calves often dearer than last week.

Just 1400 head were yarded, down on the initial advertising of a 2000-plus offering.

The improvements in the market were slight, but after a torrid run for cattle recently, people were taking the small wins.

Angus steers aged 16 months and suiting feedlot orders sold to $1740 on a displayed weight of 467kg (372c/kg) while the feature lines of spring-drop Angus steers reached $1430 for 361kg (396c/kg).

“I was expecting it to be a bit worse than it was,” local breeder Gerry Sheahan of Moyhu said, who sold a line of spring-drop Angus steers ahead of his cows beginning to calve again in August.

“Not that I think these prices are good at all but a least the market seems to have held up a bit.”

Gerry and Julie Sheahan, Moyhu, sold a line of spring drop Angus steers to $1270 at the Yea store sale today.

The Sheahan’s steers reached $1270 for 20 at 333kg, representing 381c/kg liveweight; the second draft of 25 at 300kg made $1100 or 367c/kg; and the third, at 262kg, realised $1000 to come back up to 381c/kg.

The more positive tone from the market came from better demand for light calves which retuned to a more traditional pattern of making higher rates compared to heavier steers.

An example of this was a line of young Angus steers from Morningside at Nagambie. They had 26 calves at 257kg make $1070 or 416c/kg and a lighter pen of 30 head weighing 216kg sell for $950 or 439c/kg

Euroa agent Mick Curtis was watching the sale ahead of Euroa’s big End of Financial Year sales next week, when agents will be under pressure to sell 4500 cattle over two days.

Mr Curtis said prices had probably got low enough to tempt people into buying, hence the slight lift in small calf prices at Yea.

“I think what is happening is people are starting to get over the shock of what has happened to cattle prices and are going ‘these look pretty cheap and maybe we should buy a few’,” he said.

There were two commission buyers at Yea – Campbell Ross and Duncan Brown – as well as agents from the local area and Gippsland, with Elders Mildura making a rare appearance as well.

Campbell Ross (far right) was a volume buyer at Yea today, most young cattle were destined for Western District restockers.

Also in the mix was TFI buyer Ben Davies who helped put a good floor in the market for the opening laneway of steers with weight. He paid to $1690 or 392c/kg for EU-accredited Angus steers weighing 431kg.

As a guide, most of the better bred lines of steers sold from 350c to 385c/kg. But any pens that were mixed for breed or didn’t tick feedlot specifications still struggled at 290c to 330c/kg.

Some of the cattle on offer at the Yea store cattle sale.

The sale opened on grown Hereford steers weighing 565kg which made $1390 or 295c/kg.

Not as many heifers were offered following some very low prices the week before.

Grown black baldy heifers at 424kg topped at $1500 working out to 353c/kg and had enough quality to go back to the paddock.

Most little heifers sold in a range of 300c to 330c/kg, with few pens slipping below the 300c/kg benchmark. In dollars per head terms, they mostly made $600 to $1000.