Report: Calves top $1560 at Yea store sale

The feature sale of 4000 spring drop calves saw the odd price creep over 400c/kg, with selling agents quoting the sale as much dearer than the centre’s recent sale.

Jenny Kelly

3 min read

May 24, 2024 - 1:44PM

The Weekly Times

Mark Lincoln, Linc Ag, with his pen of 21 Angus steers which won the best presented award and sold for $1340 on a weight of 356kg (376c/kg).

The word ‘surprised’ hasn’t had good connotations for cattle producers much this year, but it was used to describe better than anticipated prices for Angus weaner steers at Yea today.

The feature sale of 4000 spring drop calves sold to a top of $1560 for steers just over 400kg and then demand hung-on to keep the majority over $1000 per head as rates stuck in the 370c to 390c/kg range – occasionally even creeping over 400c/kg liveweight.

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised – this sale has been a lot better than I thought it would be,’’ said Mark Lincoln, Lincoln At, after his pen of 21 Angus steers sold for $1340 on a weight of 356kg to make 376c.

Selling agents quoted the sale as much dearer than the centre’s general store sale earlier this month which was ordinary enough that it deterred some calf producers from yarding calves today.

Chris Pollard, Nutrien at Yea, said volume buying orders from the north plus local and Gippsland competition had delivered a robust result as a lot of farmers still await an autumn break.

“It’s a fair bit better than last sale, as one client just said to me through gritted teeth after selling heifers last market for probably $200 less than what they would have made today,’’ he said.

It was a quality yarding with lines of well-bred Angus calves born in August, September and October last year, and although weight and condition was down on previous years, the calves were arguably in ideal store condition with frame.

The sale revolved around some key orders including: Christie & Hood, stock agents from Dubbo in central NSW; commission buyer Andrew Lowe for northern clients including Parraway Pastoral; commission buyer Duncan Brown buying for AJF at Coonamble and also backgrounding clients in NSW; South Gippsland agents buying replacement bullocks and feeder steers, the volume buying from Neil Darby, Alex Scott & Staff, and Owen Kindellan SEJ; and an agent from Trangie Livestock and Pastoral in NSW.

Also in the mix was some local Yea and Euroa based orders, but overall the sale was generally built around less than 10 main buyers and there was only a small crowd in attendance.

But it was enough to consistently hold prices in the 370c to 390c/kg lwt range for steers, including for lighter calves which have been struggling at some sales due to the poor season.

In dollar per head terms there was just one sale above $1500 and five pens above $1300 for the lead of the steers which weighed above 330kg lwt. The majority of sales were in the $1000 to $1200 mark.

Buyer Duncan Brown said there was pockets of feed in the north and cattle prices were being viewed as reasonable with potential for upside.

“I’ve got blokes who would usually take on agistment that are buying cattle as the dollars per head (investment) looks pretty sensible,’’ he said.

The buying chances of the sale were judged to be in the heifers, particularly on lines of well-bred calves that just lacked weight and majority.

Light heifers went down to 250c/kg lwt, which had lines like 87 Angus from The Brilliant which weighed 251kg selling for $650. The lead run of heifer calves with weight above 300kg sold to $1000 and trended just above 300c/kg lwt.

Adrian Oliver, manager Barragunda Pastoral at Mansfield, with the lead of the property’s 160 steer calves which sold to $1280 for 334kg, the big run of 66 head pictured weighing 297kg and selling for $1150 or 387c.

Some key steer results from the sale included:

E&J Dalla Viad and IN Ferguson: 15 Angus steers, August/September 2023 drop, 414kg, $1560 (376c);

RJH Marina: 16 Angus, June/July 2023 drop, 400kg, $1480 (370c); 15 at 370kg, $1390 (375c);

Inverurie Pastoral: 20 Angus, 351kg, $1360 (387c);

Marlene Walsh: 25 Angus, 351kg, $1370 (390c);

Barragunda Pastoral: 25 Angus, 334kg, $1280 (383c); 48 at 255kg, $990 (388c)

Ballandry Pastoral: 25 Angus, 285kg, $1110 (389c);

Northwood: 19 Angus, 295kg, $1200 (406c); 52 at 264kg, $1020 (386c)

Polloch: 25 Angus, 280kg, $1110 (396c)

The Brilliant: 414 Angus, 282kg, $1100 (390c); 56 at 263kg, $1030 (391c)

Black on Green: 39 Angus, 295kg, $1220 (413c).

The indicator heifer results were: