THE State's buoyant store cattle market continued at Nutrien Livestock's special store cattle sale at the Muchea Livestock Centre last Friday.
It was the company's first standalone store cattle fixture at the venue for the year with the Nutrien Livestock team yarding 1528 head of cattle.
The yarding was dominated by pastoral cattle from the Pilbara, Gascoyne and Murchison regions, particularly pastoral heifers which made up 80 per cent of the total yarding.
Following encouraging results from their Boyanup winter store sales, Nutrien Livestock again interfaced the sale on AuctionsPlus which added another arm to the strong competition from lotfeeders, graziers and exporters operating at the sale.
There were fewer local beef numbers with a small run of medium and lightweight beef steers heifers selling to 402c/kg for 256c/kg Murray Grey steers and $1426 for the heaviest pen of 358kg Simmental steers, while liveweight heifer values reached 340c/kg for 248kg Angus heifers and $1019 for 305kg Murray Grey heifers.
In the pastoral yarding, steer values reached 308c/kg for 262kg Droughtmaster cross steers and $945 for 315kg Shorthorn steers from the Pilbara region, while exporters paid to 356c/kg for 243kg bulls and to $1121 for 371kg bulls both with Shorthorn breeding from the northern Goldfields region.
The extensive yarding of pastoral heifers saw better bred types top at 320c/kg for 201kg Pilbara Droughtmaster cross heifers and $950 for 337kg Murchison Santa Gertrudis cross heifers.
There were 58 registered bidders and 52 viewers logged on to AuctionsPlus from WA, New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia, resulting in 1091 catalogue views, 106 online bids on 25 different lots with 16 lots purchased.
The sale kicked off with the small run of beef cattle with the sale's top per head price recorded from the outset with the opening pen of 12 Simmental steers weighing 358kg, offered by KJ & C Kerse, North Dandalup, selling for $1426 at 398c/kg to Borello Beef.
Jamie Davies, Kalgrains, Wannamal, secured five pens of beef steers paying to $1144 at 400c/kg for 11 Murray Grey steers averaging 286kg, also from the Kerse family's consignment.
Caris Park Grazing Company also collected five pens of beef steers and paid the sale's 402c/kg top liveweight price for the Kerse's lighter draft of five Murray Grey steers, averaging 256kg to cost $1029.
Mr Davies continued his buying into the line-up of beef heifers, securing seven of the eight pens.
He paid to a top price of $1019 at 334c/kg for a duo of Murray Grey cross heifers weighing 305kg offered by Sachse Farming, Bencubbin, and a 340c/kg top liveweight price for nine Angus heifers tipping the scales at 248kg from the paddocks of AMB Consolidated Pty Ltd.
A run of steers kicked off the pastoral section of the sale with values topping at $945 at 300c/kg for four Shorthorn steers weighing 315kg, offered by Turee Creek station, Newman, purchased by Mr Davies who added a further three pens of steers for an export order.
LW Bookham snapped up four pens of pastoral steers paying to the 308c/kg top liveweight price for a big line of 22 Droughtmaster cross steers weighing 262kg from the Pilbara region, to cost $806.
Mr Davies also purchased four consecutive pens of lighter Droughtmaster cross steers for a South West grazier order, paying to 304c/kg for 11 steers weighing 213kg to cost $648 and $667 at 298c/kg for 17 steers averaging 224kg, both from the Pilbara.
Dean Ryan, Central Stockcare, dominated the line-up of pastoral bulls, collecting 12 of the 15 pens of bulls for a live export order.
Mr Ryan paid to a $1121 top price at 302c/kg for the heaviest three Shorthorn bulls averaging 371kg and to the 356c/kg top liveweight price for six Shorthorn bulls weighing 243kg to cost $865, with both pens offered by Minara Pastoral Holdings, Leonora.
A Pilbara pastoralist also sold several pens of pastoral bulls with Mr Ryan paying to $829 at 296c/kg for 11 Shorthorn bulls averaging 280kg and to 348c/kg for 16 Droughtmaster bulls weighing 217kg, to cost $754.
The sale swung onto the extensive numbers of pastoral heifers where AuctionsPlus entered the sale and provided strong support at the top-end of the pastoral heifer market.
Mr Ryan was also targeting heavier, better-bred heifers and some lengthy bidding battles ensued on the top-end of drafts from Killara station, Meekatharra, Lyndon station, Carnarvon, Ethel Creek station, Newman, Gunnadorah station, Rawlinna, Minara and Turee Creek.
He finished with 19 pens of heifers for a Wheatbelt lotfeeder order and paid the section's $950 top price at 282c/kg for 11 Santa Gertrudis cross heifers weighing 337kg from Killara.
Mr Ryan also paid the next highest price of $900 at his top liveweight bid of 288c/kg for eight Droughtmaster cross heifers weighing 313kg from Ethel Creek.
AuctionsPlus finished the sale with 212 pastoral heifers, paying to a $800 top price at 290c/kg for 12 Santa Gertrudis cross heifers averaging 276kg from Killara and the section's 320c/kg top liveweight price for 22 Droughtmaster cross heifers weighing 201kg offered by Ethel Creek to cost $642.
AuctionsPlus commercial operations WA Teeah Bungey said the heifers sold to a northern New South Wales buyer looking to purchase better quality pastoral heifers and will graze the heavier heifers on an oat crop, the lighter heifers on grass and join the some of the best quality heifers.
Some other dearer per head values paid for pastoral heifers included $876 for 10 Droughtmaster cross heifers from Ethel Creek weighing 322kg, knocked down to Mr Davies at 272c/kg who added 12 pens of heifers for his live export order.
Armed with a couple of northern Wheatbelt grazier orders, Kevin Fowler collected numerous pens of pastoral heifers paying to $879 at 266c/kg for 11 Brahman cross heifers weighing 331kg offered by Gunnadorah.
The Bookham family returned to the fray and added a few pens of heifers to their account, paying to $846 for 13 spaded Angus cross pastoral heifers weighing 298kg from Gunnadorah.
Roger Leeds, Nutrien Livestock, paid to $721 for eight pens of heifers for a grazier order with the top price going to five Shorthorn cross heifers averaging 296kg at 244c/kg offered by Turee Creek.
Jurien Bay grazier Gordon Dodd, GR & VJ & MG Dodd, was looking for quiet heifers with good conformation and collected three pens of Shorthorn cross heifers from Ethel Creek paying to 308c/kg for 16 lighter heifers weighing 167kg.
