A SMALL but dedicated crowd competed on a smaller than advertised number of weaners when 612 weaned calves were penned for the first Landmark sale at Boyanup for the new year.
Following on from the strong sale at Mt Barker the day before, prices were in the vendors’ favour helped by a much stronger live export presence.
Steer calves sold from $851-$1278 over the range of 278-358c/kg at the lighter end.
Heifer weaners topped at $1126, with a low of $639, selling over the tight range of 270-314c/kg, for both to sell well above expectation.
The heifers sold over a particularly close range from 280-295c/kg for most pens.
Live export operators were out with a stronger presence along with lotfeeders, graziers and agents combining to make a strong sale.
The sale started with a pen of 12 Angus steers from Mastaglia Brothers, Greenbushes, that weighed 388kg and sold to Graham Brown at 314c/kg to cost $1218.
Mr Brown then paid 318c/kg for the next pen of 11 steers from RE & LM Clarke with the 362kg steers returning $1150.
Landmark Harvey representative Ralph Mosca had buying orders for feedlots, first taking seven Angus steers from GL & RK Dickson, Nannup, with the 440kg steers costing $1278, the top of the sale, at 290c/kg.
Phil Petricevich, buying for a northern feedlot, then paid $1176 for six of the Dickson calves with the 400kg calves making 294c/kg.
The next three pens all were knocked down to Mr Brown with seven Charolais sold by LV Blyth weighing 369kg selling at 310c/kg to return $1145.
Angus steers sold by W & LM Holland, Boyup Brook, then made $1206 and $1106 at 314c/kg and 315c/kg.
RG & AP Wheatley, Bridgetown, followed on from their successful pre-Christmas sale with their top pen of 16 Angus weighing 338kg and selling for $1153 when Phil Petrichevich bid to 322c/kg.
The lightest 10 weighing 275kg were the start of strong buying by AH & SM Padman, Capel, with these costing $946 and 344c/kg.
The first pen of Charolais steers from Mastaglia Brothers weighed 406kg that cost Livestock Shipping Services (LSS) $1211 at 298c/kg.
The top Charolais that earlier had won the Charolais competition from AS & M Campbell, Cooara stud, Keysbrook, then sold at 300c/kg and $1249, with the next six calves weighing 378kg making 324c/kg and $1227, both going to LSS.
Placed third, seven steers of 324kg from DA & AE Thompson, Boyup Brook, cost LSS $1064 at 328c/kg with another of the Thompson steers making $1170 and 324c/kg.
Selling numbers, LV Blyth then saw their pen of 11 Charolais weighing 342kg selling at 324c/kg to return $1107.
Other pens of the Blyth cattle were snapped up for LSS from $998-$1099 at between 326-330c/kg.
Landmark Margaret River agent Jock Embry paid $885 for 14 Blyth steers of 247kg, sharing the top price of 358c/kg with Maywill Farms which bought 12 weighing 357kg that cost $919.
Alan Padman was close behind when he secured a pen of 15 weighing 245kg for $873 at 356c/kg.
In the small pens, two steers weighing 392kg sold account PI & ST Ford, Donnybrook, went to Mr Brown at $1256, selling for 320c/kg.
One Murray Grey was bought by Welldon Beef, Williams, for $1201 when the 390kg steer made 308c/kg when sold by RE & LM Clarke.
Tom Rimmer, Waterloo, sold a line of 11 Simmental cross steers weighing 349kg with Welldon Beef snapping these up at 300c/kg.
The heifer section was topped by seven Charolais heifers from AS & M Campbell that had taken second place in the Charolais promotion.
Weighing 373kg these sold to LSS for $1126 and 302c/kg.
A pen of 14 heifers from the LV Blyth offering took top price in c/kg when the 301kg heifers sold to HNH Grazing at 314c/kg.
Welldon Beef bid to 310c/kg for the next line of 13 weighing 275kg to cost $852.
Harris Beef Enterprises, Boyanup, snapped up the first two pens from Jenour & Sons containing a combined 18 heifers, bidding to 280c/kg for the 353kg calves to be $988.
Later a pen from this vendor sold to HNH Grazing for 306c/kg and $962.
South West Pastoral, Pinjarra, had some of the last of their calves at the sale with the four pens of heifers selling to $1006 and 300c/kg.
Landmark Bridgetown’s Ben Cooper is a regular buyer of lighter heifers and again was strong toward the end of the sale, maintaining values strong to the end.
These ranged from 290c/kg to a top of 300c/kg paid for 12 Murray Grey weighing 289c/kg that returned $867 to Mostert Grazing.
