THE Elders store cattle sale at Boyanup last week featured strong numbers of quality beef cattle in a yarding slightly above advertised numbers.
Just shy of 1500 head of cattle were penned by the Elders South West team at the company's monthly store fixture, with a majority of the yarding sold liveweight by Elders selling duo Alec Williams and a commendable first-up effort from Pearce Watling auctioneering at his first store sale.
Buoyed by some good rainfall events last week throughout the South West, graziers competed strongly with a number of feeder orders to generally hold the market firm across most beef and dairy categories.
In the liveweight section of the sale, a local processor drove heavy steer values to $1759 for weights around 535kg, while a strong grazier order paid to 412c/kg for 300kg Angus steers.
Feeders pushed beef heifer values to $1482 and 366c/kg for an outstanding draft of Euro heifers weighing from 344kg to 421kg and a handful of appraisal first cross heifers sold to $1000.
First cross Angus steers sold liveweight to $1460 and 336c/kg with strong grazier interest, while appraisal lines topped at $805.
The Friesian steer section of the sale saw liveweight prices top at $1251 and 260kg for 480kg steers and appraisal steers sold to $790 for 12-14-month-old steers.
A number of unjoined cow and calf units featuring a herd dispersal sold to strong enquiry to top $2300, while Limousin bulls also sold strongly to $4100.
The sale kicked off with the large liveweight beef yarding.
Harvey Beef's Campbell Nettleton raised the bar on the heavier steer lines, paying the sale's top price of $1759 at 328c/kg for four Murray Grey cross steers weighing 536kg offered by GS Bolt & Son.
Among Harvey Beef's other steer purchases included the opening pen of three Angus cross steers averaging 538kg from HH Clifton costing $1712 at 318c/kg.
Kalgrains, Wannamal, was prominent on the mediumweight steers paying a top price of $1511 at 380c/kg for six Limousin cross steers averaging 398kg from AM & A Busher and $1502 at 390c/kg for three Charolais steers weighing 385kg from TG Wriggleworth.
Also competing strongly on these lines was Rodney Galati, Galati Family Trust, Brunswick, buying for Central Stockcare, collecting numerous lines of steers paying to $1484 at 374c/kg for a trio of Red Angus steers weighing 397kg offered by ST Duggan.
Bowie Beef Pty Ltd's Angus steers topped the beef liveweight values with Clint Gartrell, Elders Busselton, paying 412c/kg and $1234 for 12 Angus steers averaging 300kg and 410c/kg and $1194 for the following pen of 12 steers weighing 291kg.
Alcoa Farmlands, Waroona and Wagerup, draft of 61 mainly Angus steers sold to 408c/kg for two pens with John Gallop paying $1057 for 16 Angus steers averaging 259kg for a southern feeder order who continued to pay stronger values for light to mediumweight steers and Deane Allen, Elders Donny- brook, outlaid $988 for nine Angus steers weighing 242kg.
A feature draft of 124 Charolais heifers from S & JM Hayes & Son, Cookernup, set a strong early tone to kick off the beef heifer run topping both price categories at $1482 and 366c/kg.
The top per head price was paid by Kalgrains for the heaviest pen of 13 heifers weighing 421kg at 352c/kg who went on to collect a further three lines of the Hayes heifers at strong values.
Liveweight honours of 866c/kg went to 14 heifers averaging 373kg ($1366) going to Central Stockcare, while Galati Family Trust secured three consecutive lines paying to 360c/kg and $1243 for 14 heifers averaging 345kg.
Other stronger prices paid for beef heifers included $1431 at 356c/kg for five Charolais heifers from TG Wriggleworth going to Kalgrains.
Rob Gibbings, Elders Capel, bid $1428 at 296c/kg for a heavier duo of Angus cross heifers weighing 483kg from BM Strange and $1363 at 338c/kg for six Charolais heifers weighing 403kg from AS & M Campbell & Son.
Another six of the Campbell heifers averaging 379kg earlier sold to Mr Watling for $1365 at 360c/kg and Galati Family Trust bid to 364c/kg for 11 Limousin cross heifers weighing 347kg to cost $1262 from A & K Bashford.
Mr Watling paid top dollar from the outset for the first two pens of liveweight first cross Angus steers, with four steers averaging 480kg offered by Tayylnn Farms making $1459 at 304c/kg and 12 steers weighing 425kg from Evedon Pastoral Company making $1319 and 310c/kg.
The 336c/kg top liveweight price was paid by a grazier for 13 Angus cross steers averaging 360kg from Noteable Downs Partnership to cost $1208, while 12 steers weighing 343kg offered by R & N May were snapped up by Daniel Delaney, Delaney Livestock, for 334c/kg and $1145.
The line-up of older Friesian steers sold liveweight reached values of $1251 and 260c/kg, paid by VA & MP Wright for eight steers weighing 481kg, offered by Vasse Transport with the opening pen of 13 steers averaging 450kg from the paddocks of BJ & CE Nieuwenhuyze also realising 260c/kg to cost Terry Tarbotton, Elders Nannup, $1169.
The Wrights collected another three steers weighing 512kg from Evedon Pastoral Company for $1156 and 226c/kg and Greg Jones paid 256c/kg and $1141 for six Friesian steers averaging 446kg from Crendon Irrigation.
The sale then moved to the run of appraisal steers with first cross Angus steers topping at $805, paid by Craig Martin, Elders Brunswick, for a pen of eight offered by Stocksfield Farm.
Mr Martin also paid $800 for four steers from LJ & RA Brennen for the same order.
The second pen of 11 steers offered by D & A Campbell were purchased by Mr Gartrell for $800.
Appraisal Friesian steers topped at $790 paid by Mr Gibbings for the opening pen of 16 steers offered by AM & A Busher.
Mr Tarbottom was prolific through this section, collecting 11 pens of young steers for grazier orders and paid to $705 for 14 steers from Kingsley McSwain.
Mr Jones snapped up a pen of five steers for $700 offered by JP Giumelli & Son.
A few pens of first cross Angus heifers rounded out the appraisal section with a pen of five heifers from the WA College of Agriculture, Harvey, selling for a $1000 to Mr Gibbings for a local mated first cross heifer producer.
The final stage of the Murray Grey herd dispersal of Baypoint Holdings Pty Ltd, Benger, due to a change in farming direction, headlined the cow and calf units.
Mr Williams secured all three lines of the Murray Grey fifth and sixth calving cows (not rejoined) with one to three-month old Murray Grey calves at foot paying from $1960 to $2300.
Mr Jones purchased the balance of the cow calf units, bidding to $2100 for four Hereford cross cows and Limousin sired calves at foot offered by AM & A Busher.
A trio of well grown Limousin bulls offered by G & D Lyster, Lysgorran stud, Boddington, sparked some interest to finish the sale.
Mr Galati paid the $4100 top price while Errol Gardiner, Nutrien Livestock Brunswick, collected the other two bulls for $3750 and $3900.