BUYERS let an opportunity to purchase quality females slip through their fingers at last week’s Primaries Manjimup Female sale.
Despite a quality yarding of mated and unmated females offered by local vendors, the prices and clearance were back on what the Primaries team had hoped for pre-sale, due to a lack of buying support.
A good number of the offering had a later calving date, as late as July in some instances, and buyers commented that it is hard to get late calves into the slaughter system as the change to grainfed has been made by that time.
It was a disappointing result for all concerned, especially at the top end where the females were comparable to any sale this selling season.
That said, other sales this season have seen a distinct difference in support for owner-bred females compared with those bought in and mated for this type of sale.
Strong buyer support from Delaney Livestock Services (DLS) , Busselton and Cameron Harris, Elders Manjimup, sharing the bulk of the cattle sold, along with a couple of local graziers provided a reasonable base to the sale.
The overall end result, including post auction sales until Farm Weekly left the sale, saw 73 of 177 mated females find buyers, topping at $1950 while six of six pregnancy tested not detectable in calf sold to $1000.
Almost the entire offering was Angus.
Unfortunately the bulls offered fared no better, with one selling for $1500 from the six offered.
The first pens to sell were from Beacham Brothers, Carbanup, with the first line of nine excellent heifers selling for $1950 and it was Daniel Delaney, DLS, buying these for client Parapituri Super Fund, Vasse.
The next line of nine went the same way at $1900.
Ironically, these females had travelled a good distance to end up back almost next door to where they left.
DLS then paid $1700 for eight owner-bred heifers from Rimrock Grazing, Boyup Brook, with these clerked to Milyeanup Pastoral, Scott River.
Bob Pessotto, F Pessotto & Sons, Manjimup, took home a line of eight sold account M Levi, paying $1750 for these.
Three other pens of black heifers from the Levi offering also went to Milyeanup Pastoral, with seven selling at $2600, six for $1400 and another seven making $1400.
Cameron Harris paid $1100 for three sold by DN Spence, with DM & G Kamman paying the same for a pen of four.
Local, AJ Giblett, snapped up a pen of eight Charolais-Angus cross heifers from M Levi for $1200.
Of the bulls offered, a rising two-year-old Limousin from KG & SE Nettleton was bought by Cameron Harris for John Cilemanoff at $1500.
Mr Harris then secured all the females pregnancy tested not detectable in calf, paying $1000 for three Angus sold by M Levi as well as one Murray Grey cross at $820.
Two Angus from DN Spence went on the load also at $780.