Why prices at Ballarat didn’t go as expected

A big field of buyers and a small yarding meant cattle prices showed a welcome rise at Ballarat. Full sale report here.

Cattle prices showed a welcome lift at Ballarat today thanks to a big field of buyers and a small yarding.

Uncertainty about prices makes it hard to predict what will happen from week to week but HF Richardson Ballarat livestock manager Bernie Nevins said today’s sale was better for vendors.

“I would say our steers were 10-20c/kg dearer and our heifers were up to $150 higher than our last sale,” Mr Nevins said.

“People were asking me today if they thought we had hit the floor for prices and who knows if we have, but if it doesn’t go any lower, that will be a positive.

“Steers at our last sale mostly made 320-350c/kg and today was better than that.”

To attract the best competition at today’s offering of about 1700 cattle, everything had to be right, Mr Nevins said, and this meant well bred, weaned steers consistently sold from 350-400c/kg.

Some of those fitting these parameters was the draft from L and H Harris, who sold a pen of 19 Angus steers, 350kg, for $1360 or 389c/kg. The seconds from the run, at 287kg, made $1120 or 390c/kg.

Braemanya Family Trust, based at Blowhard, offloaded 76 cattle at Ballarat on Friday including a mix of steers and heifers.

Vendor Graeme Ford said prices had flattened compared to the falling prices at sales in previous months.

“The prices were quite alright, we didn’t know how they were going to sell,” he said.

“The prices are down compared to this time last year. Our steers today ranged between $1000-$1600 whereas last year we might have got $1800.”

He also said Ballarat’s offering was down compared to previous years, with 1600-1700 cattle on sale on Friday.

James Reddish and Graeme Ford from Braemanya Family Trust at Blowhard were some of the vendors at the Ballarat cattle sale.

Most of the steers yarded were Angus, and a breakdown of prices by weight showed:

– 200-250kg made $690-$900 (top price,

– 250-300kg made $760-$1120 (top price, 298kg, 389c/kg);

– 300-350kg made $900-$1360 (top price, 350kg, $389c/kg);

– 350-400kg, $1250-$1470 (top price, 368kg, 399c/kg);

– 400-500kg, $1260-$1790 (top price 500kg, 358c/kg).

The top steer price was $1970, paid for a pen of Angus that weighed 608kg and returned 324c/kg.

The heifer market was where the biggest price increases were seen though, and Mr Nevins said lifts of $150 and more were off the back of tough rates in their previous market.

At that sale, heifers rarely broke through 300c/kg at today’s sale, lifts of 10-15c/kg were seen for most drafts.

Feature lines of Angus heifers, again from the Harris family, were some that saw the price increase, with their top pen weighing 364kg making $1160 or 318c/kg while the lighter pen, at 285kg, made $890 or 312c/kg.

Mr Nevins said better heifers made 300-320c/kg.

And while vendors would be hoping for more, Mr Nevins said the prices allowed some producers to stock up at the cheapest rates they had seen for years.

“It is tough if you have bought steers for more than $2000 and now selling them for less than you paid for them,” he said.

“On the other hand, the trading margins of buying now are pretty much the same, it’s just you are not buying for $2200 and selling for $3000, you are buying if for less and making the same margin but with a lower initial outlay.”