Wodonga cattle sale: Steers make big money

Feature lines peaked at 850c/kg, with buyers warned that they may have to reassess their pricing leading into the new year sales.

Jack Mahoney, manager of Spacorp at Merrijig, with the property’s feature line of autumn drop steer weaners which made from $2380 to $2440 to return up to 850c/kg liveweight at Wodonga.

Weaner calf buyers may have to recalculate their prices after the first genuine lines of March 2021-drop steers made “phenomenal” money at Wodonga today.

The feature lines of Angus and Hereford steer calves in the yarding started at a base of 700c/kg and peaked at 850c/kg to make between $2000 to $2440.

It makes it the strongest sale seen by North East selling agents, who quoted the market as $100 to $200 dearer, with rates matching or even exceeding the huge money quoted out of southern saleyards like Ballarat and Mortlake recently.

Even some of the commission buyers who regularly attend sales across northern Victoria and southern NSW were caught-out by the step-up in price.

“Have you got another heart on you have you?,” one buyer asked The Weekly Times as he walked away from another pen.

“I need an extra heart if I’m to pay this sort of money.’

The sale which really got the sale buzzing was $2380 for the third cut of a feature run of Rennylea-blood Angus steer calves aged eight to nine months from Merrijig property Spacorp.

The pen of 33 had a displayed weight of 280kg, working out to 850c/kg liveweight. The two heavier pens of the Spacorp steers, weighing 340kg, made $2240 and $2435, returning 711c/kg.

Spacorp manager Jack Mahoney said the store calf market just kept improving.

“I thought if we averaged just over $2000 it would be a good result and we are well and truly above that,” he said of the 91 steers which would come close to returning $2400.

As a comparison, last year the property’s similar run of calves had topped at $1800.

“To be up $600 is amazing really,” Mr Mahoney said.

And it wasn’t a one-off.

A feature run of March-drop Hereford steer calves bred by the Zauner family of Bungil Park Herefords at Granya also easily surpassed last year’s best money of $1700.

The lead run of 40 Herefords at 327kg, unweaned, sold for $2320 or 709c/kg, the very next pen at 273kg bouncing up to 802c/kg or $2190.

“It is outstanding, phenomenal money,” property manager Ken Star said.

Ken Star, manager of Bungil Park Herefords at Granya, with Chris Zauner whose family owns the property, and their line of 91 March drop Herefords which sold for $2320 and $2190 to return up to 802c/kg at Wodonga.

Agents note that the sale favoured lighter calves as people purchased to dollar-a-head limits, which meant calves under 300kg often came close to the dollar-a-head cost of their much heavier brothers.

Other results for the main advertised runs at Wodonga today included:

• $2340 for the lead draft of 30 Charolais-Shorthorn steer calves from Butchers Flat which weighed 332kg, equalling 704c/kg.

• $2340 for 26 Angus steers weaners from Grifforan Pastoral at 329kg, 711c/kg, with breeder Mike O’Halloran describing it as “extraordinary”.

“Our calves of a similar weight made $1770 last year and to think they could make that much more today is just incredible,” he said.

Agents said the prices suggested calf buyers would have to reassess they money they might need if they want to purchase stock at the upcoming big feature weaner sales, which kick off at Euroa next week.

“I agree that this might have put a new line in the sand,” Wodonga agent Craig Schubert said. “I think we will see quality calves make some (big) money next week and in the New Year.”

Commission buyer Duncan Brown said the benchmark rate for well-bred lines of calves seemed to be getting higher.

“Is this a new price level today, yes,” he said.

There was 1700 cattle yarded at Wodonga, with buyers thankful for the roof as heavy rain continued to fall throughout the morning.

Feedlot buyer Teys Charlton dominated bidding on the heavier steers, paying to $2270 for Angus at 487kg, equalling 568c/kg.

Overall, the majority of the steers all made above $2000.

A volume buyer was commission agent Andrew Lowe, who was purchasing steers for northeast restockers as well as cattle to be trucked into northern NSW.

In the heifer pens, the lead calves were making from $1800 to a top of $2130 for a neat pen of Angus females at 296kg which pushed their cost close to 720c/kg.

There wasn’t many heifers available in comparison to steers, and with the lush feed conditions and good returns available to breeders agents suggested fewer females may come out at the weaner sales as numbers are held to either join or fatten further.