THE WA cattle market is as strong as it has been for as long as livestock agents and producers can remember.
Over the past two weeks prices for vealer calves were raising eyebrows from producers who have been fetching double what they were getting about 20 years ago.
Frank Schubert, 74, from Bindoon, was at the Muchea Livestock Centre on Monday and watched his line of 28 calves sell to prices similar to last week.
He had 11 calves in the calf pen last week that sold to $970 a head.
"It's the best it's ever been for us," Mr Schubert said.
"Twenty years ago I was getting about $2 per kilogram, which I thought was a good price back then.
"Now I'm getting $4/kg plus."
Mr Schubert said he wasn't planning to retire just yet as the 80 head cow herd kept him active and he enjoyed it too much.
"I had about 120 cows but we have reduced it down to keep the input costs down, while prices are up," he said.
A local buyer/feedlotter said in passing that the price was driving him crazy this week but he was "still going to pay it" because he needed the cattle, much like local butchers and processors.
In Meat & Livestock Australia's (MLA) Muchea Market Report for this week it said restocker and feeder demand from New South Wales graziers continued to drive the pastoral type lighter weights.
"Market movers today were the local weaner and yearlings to feeders up by 20c to 40c with pastoral heifers 50c/kg dearer," MLA said.
"In the weaner portion of the yarding, the local weaner steers to feeders sold from 370c to 472c up 40c/kg, the corresponding pastoral weaner steers sold from 280c to 376c/kg.
"Local weaner heifers sold from 378c to 450c up 40c/kg, the 2 score pastoral weaner heifers sold from 240c to 404c/kg on a poorer selection.
"The pastoral lightweights slipped in quality but gained 50c on the back of interstate inquiry and sold from 164c to 336c/kg."
Agents were happy with the sale but also reminded attendees of the Nutrien Ag Solutions store cattle sale scheduled at Muchea on Friday, November 13.
They said that sale would give a clearer indicator of the market and the demand from the Eastern States.
Concerns were raised by attendees at the sale this week that the prices were unsustainable in the long term - especially after a lot of breeding stock were slaughtered last year, about 70,000 head were transported east this year, and it takes about two years to replace breeding numbers.
The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development's (DPIRD) latest interstate cattle transfer figures, shows that stock are still moving east in significant numbers through the southern channel, with 7500 cattle recorded in October 2020, according to records from the Ceduna checkpoint in South Australia.
This brings the total cattle transfers east in 2020 to 69,800, the second highest on record compared with 2010, when 129,200 cattle went east due to severe dry seasonal conditions in Western Australia.
DPIRD research scientist Kate Pritchett said "so far, 2020 has seen a much higher number of cattle move east than usual with sustained high monthly transport figures".
"In 2019 a total of 6200 cattle went east and 6600 in 2018," Ms Pritchett said.
"The transfers east have been driven by very similar issues to those seen in the sheep industry, mainly the breaking of the drought in the Eastern States with continued good rainfall that has given producers confidence to restock properties.
"There has also been increased competition from processors, which has helped push the strong prices."
