The only cattle sale to be held between Christmas and New Year has produced some surprises

Competition was “very impressive” at the only cattle sale to be held between Christmas and New Year in Victoria’s Western District. See the full report.

Prices hit $2700 as agents chanced their luck by running a store cattle sale between Christmas and New Year at Mortlake in Victoria’s Western District today.

And while not all the almost 2200 Friesian-cross females offered made as much as hoped, they sold to a wide buying spread from NSW, across Victoria and into South Australia.

Elders Warrnambool agent David Patterson said the best results were achieved for heifer and calf units, with competition described as very impressive.

Big runs of cattle in decent pen sizes of 10 or more attracted the most competition.

“We hit the $2700 mark for the tops and there were a couple of advertised runs that made $2650,” Mr Patterson said.

“One vendor who had 80 heifer and calf units averaged $2400 so competition for runs was there.”

The sale’s best price was paid for a pen of Angus-Friesian heifers, two-and-a-half years, with Limousin calves which were six to eight weeks old.

Once off the bigger pen sizes, and into secondary lines, prices for the two-in-one units made $1500-$1800.

There was not the same competition for the pregnant F1 heifers, which made up the bulk of the offering.

These topped at $2100 for a pen of Angus-Friesian heifers which were due to calve in February/March and while not weighed, were estimated to be close to 700kg liveweight.

About 90 per cent of the F1 joined females had been put to a Limousin bull. with better quality and heavier pens selling from $1600 to $1800, and slipping back to $1300-$1600 for secondary drafts.

Where the surprise in the market came was for the unjoined F1 heifers, and it was not the top weights that gained the extra competition.

F1 unjoined heifers with weight topped at $1220 for a pen that was estimated to weigh more than $500kg liveweight, but Mr Patterson said there was plenty of competition for young breeders weighing 220-240kg liveweight.

“I expect that these were restockers who were looking for something lighter so they can put them away and maybe join them in May,” he said.

“There are a lot of areas that have seen rain and are prepared to pay that $600-$800 to put them out on grass.”

He estimated many of these younger, lighter F1 unjoined heifers made between 190c and 220c/kg liveweight, with isolated sales running out to 230c/kg.

The Mortlake F1 sale sells vealer breeding females which in the past may have been offered at Warrnambool or Camperdown.

Buyers came from northern Victoria, the Riverina, South Australia’s South East, Gippsland, Portland and local areas, while a commission buyer was believed to be sourcing numbers for further north in NSW.