Wangaratta store sale: steer and heifer prices strong
Many vendors made more money than they had ever seen. Breakdown of prices here – including who sold the top steers and heifers.
Steer prices were strong at Wangaratta today without stretching into record territory.
The lead pen of Angus steer calves bred by Graeme and Pam Norman sold for $2220 on a displayed weight of 378kg, working out 587c/kg liveweight.
Later in the auction the Norman’s heifers, judged the champion pen of females, sold for $2070 at 333kg to come back at a higher rate of 621c/kg compared to the steers.
In dollar per head terms the sale was being celebrated by many vendors for delivering more money than they had ever seen, with incomes well clear of 12-months ago which at the time was viewed as a fantastic result.
Brothers Craig and Robbie Fergus, Bowman’s Forest at Bowmans Forest, sold their annual draft of 207 steer calves to a top of $2010 and were expecting an average of over $1900 per head.
This compares to a top of $1560 last year.
“I’m just gobsmacked at the prices really, they are exceptional,’’ Craig said.
But for the regular buying fraternity it was another day at the office, rating it as a solid sale considering these were first draft cattle offering quality and frame.
“It has been very solid and consistent but it’s not over-the-top,’’ said commission buyer Graeme Ward, who bought a run of heavier Angus steers for feedlots including Hopkins River.
Commission buyer Geoff Braun said a positive from the buyer’s perspective is it was a winter’s yarding of store cattle, with most steers showing good frame-size but little excess fat cover.
“There is a lot of frame and no surplus condition so that helps compensate for the prices they are making,’’ he said.
The bulk of the steers sold from $1800 to $2100, and as a rule buyers wanting weights of 300kg plus had to be prepared to spend over $2000 per head. This put them into the 600c/kg plus range.
There wasn’t a lot of light calves under 250kg on offer, and prices for these didn’t reach the extreme rates of 800c plus seen at some auctions in recent weeks.
As an example, late in the auction there was 20 Angus steers at 225kg which sold for $1700 or 755c/kg lwt; and 27 calves at 215kg which made $1520.
The buying strength was from the local northeast regions, led by agents based out of Wodonga and Albury. The sale was interfaced with AuctionsPlus which did claim some lots, and it was unclear where those cattle were destined.
The heifer sale was very buoyant, and arguably stronger than the steers, withs prices consistently above 600c/kg.
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