Sale results at Wodonga show stunning trend

The crowd wasn’t big but a clear trend emerged at Wodonga’s store cattle sale today, in a first for the sale yard. See the full sale recap and pictures of all the action.

More than 90 per cent of the offering of almost 3500 cattle at Wodonga sold out of the district and as far north as central Queensland as prices were propped up by outside competition.

With tough seasonal conditions still constraining most locals from bidding, a big field of commission buyers and strong feedlot support kept values from sinking with the sale grossing $3.09 millon.

Dennis Heywood from Everton sold Angus cattle at the Wodonga store cattle sale including steers to $1410, paid for a pen of eight weighing 369kg which returned 382c/kg.

A breakdown of the results showed a sliding scale where cents-a-kilogram prices increased as weight increased. The steer averages included 0-200kg, 287c/kg, 200-280kg, 244c/kg; 280-330kg, 344c/kg; 330-400kg, 321c/kg; 400-500kg, 355c/kg, and 500-600kg, 357c/kg.

The best steers made 400c/kg and more on occasions, and even for the heaviest lines as the dearth of heavy and feedlot suitable cattle starts to emerge.

This competition was evident from the sale’s start, when a pen of heavy Angus steers, 528kg, broke through the $2000 mark to make $2060 or 390c/kg liveweight.

The very next pen, a lighter line of Angus at 470kg, showed just how keen feedlotters were to secure numbers, selling for $1880 or 400c/kg, sold by Kiamungie, with the balance of the draft making $1700, or 379c/kg.

Cecily Trickett from Morven, NSW, sold Hereford steers, 380kg, for $1150 or 303c/kg liveweight at the Wodonga store cattle sale.

The best of the Angus steers consistently made 380c/kg or more for lines that were 350kg and heavier, steers under this weight sold in a wide range from 317c/kg to 370c/kg.

There were exceptions to these price ranges, though, with a pen of 28 Angus, 292kg, selling for $1150 or 394c/kg for vendor BG Pastoral. The heavier pen from the same draft, at 315kg, made $1175 or 373c/kg.

The best price on a cents-a-kilogram basis for light steers was 412c/kg, paid for a pen sold by Lindooga Pastoral, with the 250kg Angus steers making $1030. It was one of the few pens that sold to producers in the district, with Brett and Brenda Roberts from Kergunyah looking for numbers to finish by the end of the year.

Buyers Brett and Brenda Roberts from Kergunyah, spend $1030 or 412c/kg liveweight on Angus steers weighing 250kg at the Wodonga store cattle sale.

Commission buyer Jed Parker bid across all weight ranges, and said some of the numbers he bought would be heading to Taroom, Queensland, as well as central western NSW and the Riverina.

Other commission buyers were coy on where they were sending stock, but did disclose almost all would be heading north, with one buyer saying “they would need a passport”.

Rod Potter from Corcoran Parker at Wodonga was buying for a Mudgee, NSW, producer and said prices were “up there”.

Rod Potter from Corcoran Parker at Wodonga was buying cattle to send to Mudgee at the Wodonga store cattle sale.

What was noticeable was the strong presence of feedlot buyers, some not seen regularly at Wodonga. They included representatives from TFI, Teys, JBS, and Charlton feedlots.

The competition for the best of the heifers was also strong, with Andrew Lowe a dominant force.

Heifers topped at $1610, paid for a pen of 487kg Angus sold by Corringa, returning 331c/kg.

Another good result was the sale of Shorthorn heifers from Woodpark Pastoral at Jerilderie, NSW, which sold 12, 446kg, for $1500 or 336c/kg to an Echuca buyer.

This pen of Shorthorn heifers, zero and two tooth and weighing 446kg made $1500 for vendors Woodpark at Jerilderie, with the females selling for 336c/kg liveweight at the Wodonga store cattle sale.

Ten pens of heifers made 300c/kg liveweight or more, mostly for those which weighed 350kg and heavier.

Heifer prices per kilogram trended up as weights increased, with the lowest average price 209c/kg for the 0-200kg hefiers and the bighest 318c/kg for the 400-500kg heifers.

There was a limited offering of cows and calves, which met subdued competition, and some outfits were bought to be split.

The best cow and calf price was $1750 paid for a pen of 6 Angus heifers with November-December drop calves and rejoined, sold by Magic Glenn Farms.

Max Blair and Jan Hall from the Buckland Valley in front of Mr Blair's final pen of commercial Red Angus cows he was ever selling, after moving the operation to run only stud cattle. The PTIC females, which weighed 791kg, sold for $2110.

But a pen of Red Angus joined females beat this, with the line of four mixed-age cows, 791kg and due to calf in August, making the sale’s top price of $2110 for vendor Max Blair from the Buckland Valley.