BUYERS looking for store cattle will have plenty to choose from when the Elders South West team lines up 1100 head in its Boyanup store cattle sale this month.
In the sale on Friday, May 19, not only will there be a good run of beef steers and heifers but there will be an increased number of dairy steers on offer compared to last month.
The yarding of beef cattle will include 300 steers and 200 heifers while the dairy yarding will comprise of 550 dairy steers, ranging in age from young poddie types up to heavyweight steers.
There will also be a handful of cows and calves and yearling Angus bulls on offer to round out the sale.
Elders South West livestock manager Michael Carroll said the Elders team had put together a great line up of cattle for this month’s sale.
“This month’s yarding will have an increased number of dairy steers on offer and this will give buyers that prefer the dairy types an opportunity to acquire some quality lines,” Mr Carroll said.
“Now that we are starting to see some rain it is the ideal time to source store cattle with the grass that will be beginning to show by sale day.
“There will also be a range of breeds both British and Euro types in the beef steer and heifer section in addition to a variety of cows and calves coming in as well.”
The beef cattle offering will kick off the sale and Bridgetown operation, Yornup Holdings, will be one of the biggest vendors in the section when it trucks in 44 Simangus steers and 14 Simmental cross heifers.
The calves on offer from Yornup Holdings are 10-12 months old and based on Bonnydale bloodlines.
The line was weaned in December and the black steers will weigh 340-380kg while the red and white heifers will range from 280-380kg.
Nearly matching Yornup Holdings for numbers will be TR & KA Bleechmore, Boyup Brook, with their nomination of 55 Charolais cross heifers.
The 10-12mo heifers are in good forward condition and ideal for lotfeeding interests.
Ranging in weight from 280-320kg, the Bleechmore cattle have been drenched and are ready to go.
After big offerings in the previous two sales Alcoa Farmlands, Pinjarra and Wagerup, this month will offer a small draft of 22 Angus and Murray Grey steers aged 10-12 months.
The Angus calves on offer are based on predominantly Koojan Hills blood, while the Murray Greys are based on Tullibardine and Melaleuca bloodlines.
The calves on offer were all yard weaned nearly four months ago and have been running on irrigated pastures and supplemented with hay and silage since weaning.
They have also been educated through the yards on a regular basis using low-stress stock handling methods.
In terms of health treatments they have been vaccinated twice with 5in1, treated with Pilligard and Multimin, plus they received a B12 selenium and Eprinex treatments two months ago.
Runnymede Farm, Binningup, will be another vendor with a sizable draft in the sale when it trucks in 32 steers which are eight to 10mo from its herd of 120 breeders.
Its offering will consist of 24 Angus steers and eight Speckle Park steers.
The extremely quiet calves which will average around the 250kg mark are out of predominantly Shorthorn cows and are August/September drop.
The Angus steers are sired by Diamond Tree Angus bulls, while the Speckle Park line is sired by a Tungamah Speckle Park sire.
The calves were weaned at the beginning of April and since then have been running on kikuyu pasture and have had plenty of handling.
Also offering numbers in this younger age bracket will be MJ Ward, Gelorup, and HY Armstrong, North Burekup.
The Wards will truck in 22 Charolais steers and 10 Charolais heifers in outstanding condition, aged 8-10mo, while the Armstrong family has nominated 36 Shorthorn steers and six Angus steers (8-10mo).
Elders Capel representative Rob Gibbings said the Charolais offering from the Wards would be a presentation of seriously good cattle.
“There is depth of body and volume throughout the draft,” Mr Gibbings said.
“They are certainly among the stand-outs of the catalogue and will suit a range of needs from grass finishing to feedlot.”
The Ward cattle were weaned for 14 days with the top end of the line-up weighing in at 330-340kg.
The selection of steers to be presented by the Armstrongs weigh within the 260-300kg range.
“These cattle have all been dehorned and drenched and are also very well-presented,” Mr Gibbings said.
The dairy/Friesian steer offering will feature a good run of steers aged from four to 24 months, meaning there will be something for everyone.
The biggest vendor in the dairy/Friesian steer section will be Dunmore Farming, Scott River, when it offers its annual turn-off of 80 Friesian steers ranging between 5-9mo.
Elders Margaret River agent Alec Williams said the draft was in forward store condition.
“The cattle will present very well as they have been supplementary fed on haylage,” he said.
The next biggest vendor in the section will be RW & KM Oates, Busselton, who will truck in 60 black and white steers aged 8-12mo.
Also offering numbers in the poddie lanes will be Tutunup operation Negus Enterprises which will truck in its monthly draft of Friesian steers.
This month it has nominated 35 head aged 4-6mo which have been dehorned and had all the health treatments.
Larger vendors in the older age will be LA & TM Hynes, Waterloo, with 22 black and white steers (22-24mo) and Dudinalup Pastoral Co, Nannup, with 32 Friesian steers (20-22mo), while R & R Robertson, Busselton, will present 20 Friesian steers (16-18mo).
The biggest line in the cow and calf offering will come from FJ & CJ Colreavy, Nannup, who will present 21 Angus and Angus cross mature age cows with calves at foot.
The sale will round out with four Angus yearling bulls from the Busselton-based Trafalgar and Esslemont Angus studs.
Trafalgar will yard two Angus bulls, Trafalgar Essaf K6 M29 and M35, which demonstrate the focus on all-round quality breeding in John Annear’s breeding program.
Mr Annear said with 20 years of experience there was a primary focus on breeding docile, well-balanced animals within his herd based on Ardcairnie, Lawsons and Esslemont Angus genetics.
Both bulls offered by Trafalgar have lower than breed average birthweights and rank in the top 5-15pc across all Angus indices, which is complemented by EBVs within the top 5-20pc of the breed for milk, scrotal size, EMA and IMF.
The 10mo Trafalgar bulls have been vaccinated with 7in1, B12 and selenium and are ready to work.
Esslemont will match the Trafalgar offering with two Angus sires of its own.
The Esslemont herd is based on Blackrock bloodlines and has a focus on performance data, particularly growth and carcase traits.
The two late January 2016-drop bulls, Esselmont M26 and M27, are AI sons of Ayrvale Grade G5 and rank within the top 1-15pc of the Angus breed for carcase weight and IMF EBVs and for the Angus breeding index.
The bulls also rank within the top 5-35pc of the breed for 200, 400 and 600-day weight EBVs.
The Esslemont bulls have been semen tested and have received a full contingent of treatments including 7in1, cobalt, selenium, copper and Ivomec.
For further information on the sale contact Michael Carroll on 0427 975 620.
