STORE cattle remained in strong demand at the Elders monthly store cattle sale at Boyanup last week.
With a slight correction in values across most descriptions except dairy poddies and first cross heifers, the market didn't reach the record levels seen at recent store sales at the venue.
But with buoyant competition continuing between South West graziers and a number of the State's lotfeeders, another extremely strong result was still recorded.
The Elders South West team yarded above advertised numbers with just shy of 1600 head of beef and dairy store cattle in an improved quality yarding.
Liveweight cattle made up the bulk of the yarding with feeder beef steers selling to $1794 for 429kg Angus steers, with liveweight values topping at 442c/kg for 281kg Angus steers.
Beef heifer values topped at $1609 for 426kg Limousin cross heifers and 382c/kg liveweight for 353kg Charolais cross heifers.
Liveweight first cross Angus steers sold to $1732 for 492kg steers and 374c/kg for 457kg steers, while Friesian steers sold liveweight topped at $1762 for 591kg steers and 302c/kg for 526kg steers.
Appraisal steer values reached $1035 for Angus cross steers and $930 for Friesian steers.
A feature draft of unjoined first cross heifers aged 12 to 14-months sold to $1290 and a pen of joined cows with calves sold for $1920.
The sale kicked off with a solid run of liveweight beef steers and heifers, with beef steers going on to top both price categories.
The top-priced per head honour was recorded from the sale outset with the opening pen of 14 Angus steers weighing 429kg, offered by Depiazzi Agriculture knocked down to Kevin Armstrong for $1794 at 418c/kg.
Mr Armstrong then paid $1765 also at 418c/kg for the following pen of seven Angus steers averaging 422kg, offered by Taylor Agriculture.
A heavier duo of Angus steers weighing 493kg offered by Wicklow Flats was purchased by Rob Gibbings, Elders Capel, for $1625 at 330c/kg.
John Gallop collected 11 pens of steers for a southern lotfeeder order, paying to $1590 and 438c/kg for a pen of Angus steers averaging 363kg, containing 13 from TM & JA Brockman and two from CJ & AR O'Leary.
Dean Taaffe, Nutrien Livestock Donnybrook, nodded to the sale's 442c/kg top liveweight price for 16 Angus steers weighing 281kg offered by Kilarney Pines to cost $1240.
A bid short of top price was six Murray Grey steers averaging 251kg, offered by Alec C & CJ McNab Grazing, that was purchased by Craig Martin, Elders Brunswick/Harvey, for 440c/kg at $1104.
Mr Martin was kept busy through the beef section with a couple of orders to fill, paying to $1588 at 422c/kg for six Charolais cross steers weighing 369kg, offered by KS & EN Roberts & Sons.
Alex Roberts, Elders Boyanup/Donnybrook, collected several pens of steers for a Wheatbelt lotfeeder at top liveweight values, bidding to 438c/kg for two pens consisting of two Angus steers averaging 356kg, offered by Kada Grazing Co to cost $1545 and 13 Angus steers weighing 339kg from the Gibbs Family Trust to cost $1483.
Mr Gibbings again bid up in the beef heifer line-up, paying the section's $1609 top price at 378c/kg for the first pen of heifers offered consisting of nine Limousin cross heifers averaging 426kg from the paddocks of A & K Bashford.
Rodney Galati was an active buyer through the beef section bidding to $1420 at 372c/kg for three Murray Grey heifers weighing 382kg, offered by DD & EM Hutton and to 380c/kg at $1359 for two Charolais heifers averaging 358kg, offered by S & J Hunter Rural Services.
Ben Cooper, Nutrien Livestock Bridgetown, paid stronger values for a number of heifer pens for another Wheatbelt feeder order costing to $1380 at 378c/kg for eight Charolais heifers weighing 365kg, also from the Hutton draft, and the section's 382c/kg top liveweight price for seven Charolais cross heifers averaging 353kg from the Roberts family's draft.
The sale moved onto a small run of liveweight first cross steers with Mr Gallop paying the description's $1732 top price at 352c/kg for the first pen of 15 Angus cross steers averaging 492kg offered by M Tosana.
Mr Gallop also paid $1708 at the top liveweight price of 374c/kg for 12 Angus cross steers weighing 457kg trucked in by Yoringa Downs.
Mr Gibbings cleaned up the remaining five pens of first cross steers, paying to $1273 at 310c/kg for eight Angus cross steers weighing 411kg, offered by GW & MV Smith.
A decent line-up of Friesian steers was next up with the heaviest pen of nine weighing 591kg offered by Dudinalup Pastoral Company securing the $1762 top price at 298c/kg purchased by VA & MP Wright.
Mr Jones then got on a roll and snapped up the next 11 consecutive pens of Friesian steers, paying to $1599 at 280c/kg for nine steers weighing 571kg also from the Dudinalup draft.
He finished the sale with a total of 22 pens of Friesian steers to his account and paid the section's 302c/kg top liveweight price for 11 Friesian steers averaging 526kg, offered by ST Duggan to cost $1587.
Mr Galati also added a few pens of Friesian steers to his account, bidding to 294c/kg liveweight for 14 steers weighing 275kg offered by Brenton Hinkley & Company to cost $807.
The sale then swung to the appraisal cattle kicking off with younger first cross steers with Mr Gibbings returning to the fray to pay the section's $1035 top price for the first pen of three Angus cross steers offered by Elgin Dairies.
CA Panetta presented a big draft of appraisal dairy steers with Terry Tarbotton, Elders Nannup, paying the family's $945 top price for a pen of 12 Angus cross steers.
Deane Allen, Elders Donnybrook, claimed the next three pens of Angus cross steers which included two from the Panetta draft paying $910 and $865 for pens of 16 steers each.
R & R Robertson paid $710 for 10 Angus cross steers offered by West & Haggerty, while Mr Roberts secured a couple of pens of the Panetta family's steers, paying to $805 for nine Hereford cross.
Appraisal Friesian steers made up the largest percentage of the yarding with values reaching $930 for nine offered by the Elson family.
These were purchased by Errol Gardiner, Nutrien Livestock Brunswick, who also paid the next highest price of $910 for the previous pen of 13 steers from GA & LE Jenkins.
Mr Tarbotton again stocked up on appraisal cattle for a few client orders paying to $900 twice for 10 Friesian steers from the Elson draft and 12 Friesian steers from Jesmond Dairy.
RJ & VG Wilmott proved the most prominent buyer in this section with 11 pens of young Friesian steers knocked down to his account, paying to a top price of $785 for 12 steers from the Jesmond Dairy draft.
Rounding out the sale was a selection of first cross heifers and cow calf units.
Elgin Dairies offered three lines of 10 Angus cross heifers which all sold to Mr Armstrong from $1010 to $1290, while 14 Hereford cross heifers offered by Taylor Agriculture were also snapped up by Mr Armstrong for $930.
A pen of five first and second calving Angus cows and calves that had been running back with a Limousin bull were knocked down for $1920 to Mr Jones.
What the agent said:
ELDERS auctioneer and Margaret River agent Alec Williams said the company yarded above advertised numbers with 1585 cattle sold.
"Once again there was a very solid grazier and lotfeeder enquiry but not to the same extreme values of past sales," Mr Williams said.
"Liveweight Friesian steer values eased on passed sales and beef steer and heifer yearlings were also back but only marginally.
"The appraisal beef and Friesian steers in the medium to heavy categories still sold well but not to the same extent as the past two sales.
"Younger Friesian poddies bucked the trend to be $15-$20 per dearer.
"Good grazier and breeder demand saw first cross unjoined heifer values lift $50 per head to sell to $1290."
