THE store cattle market reached boiling point at the red hot Elders June Special Store Cattle Sale at Boyanup last Friday.
Improved seasonal conditions in the South West and strengthening demand for cattle across the country saw values spike even further across all categories on some of the strongest markets seen at the venue at recent sales.
The Elders South West team yarded its advertised numbers of 1377 head of cattle in a quality, but slightly mixed yarding, that was well drafted and presented for buyers.
The sale grossed a total of $1,451,870 and averaged $1054 across all descriptions.
Strong numbers of beef weaner steers and heifers were a feature with good numbers of dairy descriptions that attracted extremely strong grazier and feeder competition again.
Beef steers ranging from 195-415kg again sold in excess of 400c/kg across all weight ranges, peaking at 452c/kg for the lighter weights with mediumweights above 300kg selling to 438c/kg.
Beef heifers also eclipsed the 400c/kg mark, selling to 408c/kg for light but well-bred 200kg heifers, while mediumweight beef heifers around 360kg topped at 390c/kg.
The store dairy cattle market saw first cross steers reach $1618 and 372c/kg liveweight, while appraisal descriptions topped at $925.
Liveweight Friesian steer prices peaked at 294c/kg and $1332 for 450-460kg steers and appraisal steers topped at $870 for 12-14-month-old steers while first cross heifers of the same age sold to $1160.
A couple of South West herd reductions saw a number of cows and calves offered which sold to $2325.
The sale kicked off on the run of decent beef steer and heifer weaners penned at the sale with beef values per head topping at $1650 for the second pen offered containing 14 Angus steers weighing 417kg offered by R & R Robertson.
David Lindberg, Elders Albany, bid 396c/kg for the top pen and added numerous more pens of steers and heifers at the top of the market to his account.
Some of Mr Lindberg's stronger steer purchases included two lines of Angus steers offered by Alcoa Farmlands paying $1548 at 418c/kg for 14 weighing 371kg and $1535 at 428c/kg for another 14 averaging 359kg and $1442 at 418c/kg for a duo of Angus steers averaging 345kg offered by HD Harrison & Co.
Craig Martin, Elders Brunswick, was kept busy throughout the sale filling a couple of significant orders paying to $1583 at 414c/kg for 11 Murray Grey steers averaging 383kg from DJ & L Klein for a south eastern Wheatbelt feeder account.
Harvey Beef's Campbell Nettleton was another prominent buyer in the weaner section, paying to a top of $1518 at 430c/kg for the following pen of 10 Murray Grey steers from the Klein family's draft weighing 353kg.
John Gallop was also active filling a couple of beef orders paying to $1481 at 418c/kg for the sale's opening pen of 15 Murray Grey steers weighing 354kg, offered by Kingston Rest Pty Ltd for a southern feeder order.
Liveweight steer values raced to 452c/kg on two occasions.
First for a pen of 15 lighter Charolais steers averaging 285kg from Callanish Grazing Company knocked down to Pearce Watling, Elders Donnybrook, representing a grazier order for $1288.
Mr Watling then bid the next highest price of 442c/kg for the following pen of 11 Charolais cross steers averaging 243kg offered by BF & RA Scott.
Mr Martin bid 452c/kg for 16 Angus steers averaging 196kg from MA, GD & BA Cowcher's draft to cost $884, while the previous pen of the Cowcher's steers averaging 241kg were snapped up by Josh Hynes, Elders Pinjarra/Serpentine, for 442c/kg and $1065.
Kevin Armstrong, Willowbank, bid up for a number of steer pens paying a 438c/kg top liveweight price for 12 Charolais cross steers averaging 302kg from the Scott family's consignment to cost $1323 and 436c/kg and $1252 for seven Limousin cross steers weighing 287kg offered by P & JL Dimov.
One of the sale's volume vendors MA Sharwood sold Angus steers to 434c/kg top liveweight price with Chris Waddingham, Nutrien Livestock Capel, paying $1078 for 15 steers averaging 248kg, while Harris Beef bid 432c/kg and $918 for four Murray Grey steers weighing 213kg from the paddocks of GF Whistler.
Per head weaner heifer values almost matched their steer counterparts with values topping at $1593 at 358c/kg paid by Harvey Beef for four Charolais cross heifers weighing 445kg offered by Parumba Plains Pastoral Company.
Mr Gallop continued his buying for a local order with six Angus heifers averaging 400kg from Bert Veenendaal knocked down for $1464 at 366c/kg.
As did Mr Lindberg who paid $1458 at 386c/kg for 11 Simmental cross heifers weighing 378kg in the following pen offered by DD & EM Hutton and $1492 at 364c/kg for a single 410kg Simmental heifer offered by T & L Kitchen.
Mr Martin topped up the truck for the feeder account with a few pens of heifers, paying to $1387 at 365c/kg for a 380kg Charolais cross heifer from DF & JA Kelly.
Liveweight heifer values broke the 400c/kg mark with the final pen of light heifers from the Cowcher family's draft selling to Terry Tarbotton, Elders Nannup, for 408c/kg and $844 for 11 Angus heifers averaging 207kg.
The scenario was the same for the previous pen of Cowcher heifers, with Mr Tarbotton, paying 392c/kg at $938 for 12 Angus heifers weighing 239kg.
Representing a grazier account, Mr Gallop paid 394c/kg and $1164 for 12 Charolais heifers weighing 295kg offered by Callanish Grazing.
Another pen of Charolais cross heifers weighing 364kg from the Parumba Plains draft sold for the next highest price of 390c/kg and $1419 to Mr Lindberg.
Richard Pollock, Nutrien Livestock Waroona, secured 13 pens of heifers for an eastern Wheatbelt feeder account, paying a 386c/kg top liveweight price for 12 Angus heifers averaging 321kg to cost $1240 while Greg Jones also paid 386c/kg and $876 for 11 Murray Grey heifers weighing 227kg from the Whistler family's consignment.
A small run of first cross steers sold liveweight were next up which sold strongly to $1719 and 372c/kg.
A line of 12 Angus cross steers from Yoringa Downs topped both price categories with Harvey Beef bidding top dollar for the 462kg steers.
Harvey Beef also paid $1618 at 364c/kg for the first pen of nine Angus steers averaging 444kg offered by J & J Drennan & Sons.
Rob Gibbings, Elders Capel, was the section's volume buyer and paid to a top price of $1467 at 350c/kg for 11 Hereford cross steers tipping the scales to 419kg, offered by MJ & TL Oberg.
The sale moved to a run of liveweight Friesian steers which sold to $1332 for 12 steers averaging 463kg from J & D McCormack that were purchased by Mr Tarbotton for 288c/kg.
Earlier Mr Tarbotton, for the same grazier account, paid $1323 at the top liveweight price of 294c/kg for 13 Friesian steers weighing 450kg from Barry and Michael Gelmi, MB & PS Gelmi, Waterloo.
Mr Jones collected several pens of steers paying to $1211 at 276c/kg for four Friesian steers weighing 439kg from RB & H Mountford & Son.
The lightest pen of steers in this section sold for 280c/kg and $843 for 10 Friesian steers weighing 301kg offered by ML Adams & LG Tillman and purchased by AJ Neil.
The appraisal section of the sale started with a small run of first cross steers.
Prices peaked at $925 from the outset with the first pen of five Angus cross steers offered by the sale's volume vendor Rodwell Farms, purchased by Alex Roberts, Elders Boyanup.
Mr Roberts collected four of the first five pens paying from $800 and included 10 Angus cross steers from A & M Anfuso for $915.
Mr Tarbotton paid the next highest price of $905 for eight Angus cross steers from the Harrison draft.
Appraisal Friesian steers made up the bigger dairy numbers with values topping at $870 for the opening pen of 13 Friesian steers from Evelyn Park, snapped up by Mr Jones who also paid $790 for another two pens of Friesian steers containing seven from TA Hick & Company and eight from Rodwell Farms.
Mr Watling collected a few consecutive pens of Friesian steers paying to $800 for 15 offered by D & A Campbell but it was Mr Tarbotton that dominated the poddie section securing nine pens for grazier clients, paying to $665 for a trio offered by the Mountford family.
A line-up of Angus-Friesian heifers were sold by appraisal with Mr Hynes, paying the $1160 top price for six trucked in by Shade River Dairy Farms while Willowbank secured seven heifers from FE & PA Parravicini & Son for $1080.
The cows and calves rounded out the sale and armed with a couple of orders, Greg Jones collected the lot paying to a $2325 top price for a single Simmental cross unit offered by DD & EM Hutton.
Magic Valley Beef's reduction of Red Angus cow and calf units sold to $1920 for a pen of three.
WHAT THE AGENT SAID
ELDERS auctioneer and Margaret River agent Alec Williams said it was one of the dearest sales he had the privilege of selling during his 35-year career with Elders.
"Grass fever has set in and coupled with a record EYCI, saw values improve once again on recent sales," Mr Williams said.
"Beef weaner steers met continued lotfeeder and grazier enquiry to sell from 386-452c/kg, up 15c/kg, with lesser quality steers at reduced rates.
"Heifer weaners also saw a lift, selling mainly from 340-408c/kg to average 375c/kg.
"Liveweight Friesian steers sold from 238-294c/kg with Angus-Friesian cross averaging 350c/kg.
"Appraisal Friesian steers also met solid demand to see rises in values across all categories.
"Cow and calf units sold to a high of $2325 with most sales from $1700-$2000/unit.
"Elders would like to thank all vendors and purchasers for their continued support during the past financial year."