Bairnsdale cattle sale: Steer and heifer prices revealed

Major feedlots and a Gippsland butcher have pushed prices to 640c/kg. See the best steer and heifer prices.

Tom Sutherland and Rachel Owen at the Bairnsdale store cattle sale where they purchased 18 black baldy heifers at $1510 from the feature line of Kent Park cattle. Picture: Petra Oates

Prices still reached impressive levels despite a smaller yarding of about 850 cattle at the Bairnsdale store sale last week.

Smaller pens of oddment cattle made up most of the yarding but still managed to return good prices while larger pens of quality black cattle pushed up to 640c/kg.

A couple of key feedlot and commission buyers put a floor in the market, with most other cattle returning to local graziers and backgrounders.

One major buyer of heavier cattle was David Shaw from his family’s butcher shop, Shaw’s Quality Meats in Gippsland.

Elders Bairnsdale auctioneer Morgan Davies said it was a testament to the strength of the market at the moment to be achieving the rates seen at Bairnsdale for cattle in the middle of winter.

“The big runs of spring cattle are still yet to come forward but really this is an in-between period where there’s bits and pieces coming into the market,” Mr Davies said.

“We all look at each other and wonder if it sustainable but it’s not up to us at the end of the day. It’s certainly extremely good at the moment and heading into the spring it might get stronger still.”

The main feature of the yarding was a consignment of quality Angus and black baldy steers and heifers put forward by Kent Park. Their line of 40 black baldy steers sold to a $1860 for six at 377kg and another pen of 18 steers at 268kg achieved highs of 636c/kg or $1770.

A total of 39 of the Kent Park black baldy heifers sold to a top of $1640 for a pen of five at 340kg.

Cents-per-kilogram wise, the heifers topped at 567c/kg for 18 at 266kg. They were bought by young couple Tom Sutherland and Rachel Owen to bolster numbers of their breeding herd at their property in Calulu.

See the top list of sales below:

STEERS

A&K Griebenow: 3 Hereford, 721kg, $2780 (385c/kg).

LD&EM Woodward: 4 black baldy, 573kg, $2530 (441c/kg); 7, 524kg at $2390 (456c/kg); 6, 564kg at $2300 (408c/kg); 5, 497kg at $2250 (453c/kg).

PR Henderson Farms:7 Angus, 500kg, $2300 (460c/kg).

K&H Maher: 8 Angus, 412kg, $2140 (519c/kg); 8, 385kg at $1980 (514c/kg).

RM Tanner: 21 Hereford, 420kg, $2020 (481c/kg).

D Szekfy: 4 Friesian-cross, 671kg, $1880 (280c/kg).

Kent Park: 6 black baldy, 377kg, $1860 (493c/kg); 16, 302kg at $1800 (596c/kg); 18, 278kg at $1770 (636c/kg).

Murphy Investments: 10 Angus, 332kg, $1790 (539c/kg).

P&J Barton: 7 Angus, 342kg, $1790 (523c/kg); 7, 283kg at $1640 (579c/kg).

R&L Britton: 8 Angus, 421kg, $1750 (415c/kg); 8, 367kg at $1540 (419c/kg).

KWD Jenkins: 6 Hereford, 376kg, $1750 (465c/kg); 10 Hereford, 405kg at $1900 (469c/kg).

DJ Lunsden: 5 Angus, 320kg, $1680 (525c/kg).

P&J Owen: 10 black baldy, 242kg, $1650 (682c/kg).

HEIFERS

IG&HJ Baker: 12 Angus, 326kg, $1550 (475c/kg).

Kent Park: 5 black baldy, 340kg, $1640 (482c/kg); 16, 292kg at $1580 (541c/kg); 18, 266kg at $1510 (567c/kg).

CK&AJ Bush: 11 black baldy, 277kg, $1530 (552c/kg).

DJ Lumsden: 10 Angus, 254kg, $1360 (535c/kg).

Smith Graziers: 3 Hereford, 358kg, $1430 (399c/kg).