Feedlot buyers help keep prices afloat at Yea

Feedlot and commission buyers stepped up at Yea on Friday, dominating the lead laneways of both steers and heifers.

Feedlot buyers dominated the opening laneways of heavy steers and heifers helping keep prices for good cattle afloat at Yea.

Steers with weight suiting feedlots and decent lines of young Angus calves still had buyer support at the Yea store sale today, but holes appeared in the market for coloured cattle and off-bred types.

Results from a couple of pens tell the tale of how the market performed around weight and breed.

In the opening laneway, a pen of 15 Angus yearlings, ideally weighted at 461kg for feedlot orders, sold for $1740 or 377c/kg liveweight. Deeper in the auction 20 Speckle Park steer calves, light at 232kg, sold for $500 or 232c/kg lwt.

The stark results followed the trend evident at other centres including Mortlake yesterday where a plainer offering of 2000 cattle were quoted as up to 40c cheaper than a fortnight ago by the National Livestock Reporting Service, which noted the drop in quality.

Con and Maree DeGroot, Springbank, sold Angus steers weighing 523kg at just 12-14 months of age, off silage, for $1910 showing how the best cattle were still supported at Yea.

Agent Chris Pollard, Nutrien at Yea, said the industry was starting to feel the pinch of the lack of rain just weeks shy of winter.

“Not too many areas in Victoria can handle cattle at the moment and we are all hanging our hats on getting an inch of rain soon,’’ he said.

While there was a good crowd at Yea many were locals monitoring the market with Yea set to host a couple of big feature sales of spring drop calves later this month.

Mansfield agent Jamie Beckingsale, Nutrien, said seasonal conditions that had looked promising just a few weeks ago with some early rain had quickly deteriorated.

“Three to four weeks ago in Mansfield we were feeling pretty bulletproof (season wise) but things have gone backwards fast,’’ he said: “My buying orders today are simple – don’t buy. Thank God for the feedlots.’’

And it was feedlots and commission buyers who stepped to the fore at Yea, dominating the lead laneways of both steers and heifers with a bit of age and weight.

If you don't recognise the coloured shirts of the agents selling, Nutrien was decked out in blue to support the Do it for Dolly campaign and charity.

The opening pen of eight grown steers from B Ackerman weighed 690kg and sold for $2100, kicking off the sale above $3 at 304c/kg lwt.

Most of the lead laneway of Angus steers were in the 450-580kg weight bracket and consistently made from 350c to 375c/kg lwt to feedlot orders including JBS, Princess Royal, AFJ Coonamble and to feeder orders being handled by buyer Campbell Ross. In dollars per head most were $1500 to $1900.

Nearly 20 pens were sold before agents buying for backgrounders and bullock finishers secured a draft.

The same thing happened in the opening heifer run with feedlots paying from $1000 to $1290 for Angus weights up to 480kg, rates tracking either side of 300c/kg lwt.

Where the market got sticky was on younger steers and heifers that were reliant on restocker support.

Pens showing good breeding still held their value, an example being Shrublands line of 26 spring drop Angus steers that weighed 288kg and ended up selling for $1030 or 357c/kg after they were chased out by a couple of keen southern restockers after a low start at $800.

Another sale judged ‘okay’ by breeders watching and preparing to sell weaners in coming weeks was $920 for Maxwood Pastoral’s pen of 20 Angus steer calves at 265kg, also around 350c.

But on the plainer steers and odd lots, prices bounced around from 220c to 280c/kg depending on the level of interest.