A QUALITY yarding of weaner steers and heifers attracted plenty of competition from a good contingent of buyers at last week's fourth annual Elders Great Southern All Breeds Weaner Show & Sale at the Mount Barker Regional Saleyards.
In the sale the Elders team yarded 620 weaners from the local area and all sold to lotfeeders and graziers at stronger prices than last year.
Overall the yarding averaged $1400 a head and 428 cents a kilogram to return a gross of $868,075.
In comparison to last year's sale the yarding of 1200 head averaged $972 and 298c/kg.
Steers sold from 370-492c/kg and to a high of $1795 with only two pens selling for less than $1000 a head.
Steers weighing more than 330 kilograms sold from 370-444c/kg, while steers weighing 280-330kg made 428-454c/kg and lighter weights made from 480-492c/kg.
A smaller offering of heifers sold over a range of 350-452c/kg and returned a top of $1556.
Heifers weighing more than 330kg sold from 350-398c/kg, while those in the 280-330kg range made 366-390c/kg and those less than 280kg sold at 420-452c/kg.
Taking top price honours on the day was a single Angus steer weighing 485kg, when it sold at 370c/kg to Lester Pastoral Co, Manypeaks, to return Gamezon Enterprises, Narrikup, $1795.
The operation also sold a line of eight Angus weighing 351kg for 436c/kg and $1531 to the bid of Nutrien Livestock, southern livestock manager Bob Pumphrey, who was bidding on behalf of feedlot operation, Welldon Beef, Williams.
The run of heavyweight steers led the sale and three lines made more than $1600 a head on the back of strong enquiry.
Mt Barker-based Talawa Grazing Co, received $1659 for a line of 11 Angus steers averaging 409kg when Lester Pastoral Co bid to 406c/kg for them.
Talawa Grazing Co sold a second line of 11 Angus steers weighing 379kg for 420c/kg and $1592 to Westcoast Wool & Livestock representative Gary Hammond, who was buying for a Wheatbelt feedlot.
The champion pen of steers, 11 Black Gelbvieh-Angus cross weighing 414kg, from Kangarabbi Farms, Narrikup, made $1656, when knocked down to Kalgrains, Wannamal, at 400c/kg.
Kalgrains also picked up a second pen of 12 Kangarabbi Farms' Black Gelbvieh-Angus cross steers averaging 387kg, which finished second in the class for steers weighing more than 350kg, for 404c/kg and $1564.
Also headed to Kalgrains at $1569 and 418c/kg was the first placed pen in the class for steers weighing more than 350kg - 12 Charolais-Angus cross averaging 375kg from GJ & LJ Hicks, Narrikup.
The third pen to crack the $1600 barrier contained 14 Angus weighing 368kg from Hillcrest Farms, Walpole and Marbelup, when Elders, Albany representative David Lindberg bid to 436c/kg for the line for a Wheatbelt feedlot.
Hillcrest Farms, was one of the biggest vendors in the sale offering nine pens of Angus steers (123 head), which weighed from 318-368kg and they sold from 436-448c/kg.
It's first placed pen in the class for steers weighing 300-350kg made $1534 when the 15 steers averaging 347kg were knocked down to Chimera Trust, Mt Barker, at 442c/kg.
Chimera Trust also picked up two other pens of Hillcrest Farms steers 15 head (347kg) and 14 head (331kg) both at 444c/kg.
Buying through the John Gallop feedlot operation, A O'Meehan & Co, Borden, purchased three pens of Hillcrest Farms steers bidding 444c/kg for all three pens which weighed 333kg (12 head), 335kg (12 head) and 322kg (16 head).
Mr Pumphrey must have liked what he saw in the lines of Black Simmental and Simmental sired steers from Martin & Flavel, Napier, as he picked up three pens for Welldon Beef.
He bid to 440c/kg ($1494) for 23 head weighing 340kg, 430c/kg ($1498) for a line of 12 averaging 348kg and 428c/kg ($1361) for a pen of 12 averaging 318kg.
The Wishart family, PM & CJ Wishart, Bremer Bay, picked up couple of pens of steers to put away for their feedlot, which included 10 Angus weighing 311kg at 440c/kg and 10 Murray Greys averaging 300kg at 434c/kg that were from Mountain Valley, Albany, as well as the champion pen of Charolais at 434c/kg which consisted of 15 Charolais-Angus cross weighing 318kg from GJ & LJ Hicks.
Fellow Bremer Bay buyer WK & B Thomas were also on the buyer's list numerous times in the steers pens.
Its purchases included 12 Charolais-Angus cross weighing 349kg from the Hicks at 440c/kg ($1536), 14 Angus averaging 318kg from Hillcrest Farms at 448c/kg ($1424) and 10 Angus weighing 324kg from D Thorbjornsen & S Jones, Scottsdale, at 440c/kg ($1426).
Levens Cattle Co, Mt Barker, sold two pens of Angus steers and they made up to $1576 when nine weighing 372kg sold at 424c/kg to a Wheatbelt feedlot through Mr Hammond.
The Smith family, Yarralena Grazing Co, Cranbrook, offered four lightweight pens of Angus steers in the sale and achieved the day's best cents a kilogram price for steers when Caris Park, Pinjarra, was written in as the buyer at 492c/kg for a pen of 16 steers weighing 236kg.
The Pinjarra operation purchased a second pen of 18 steers averaging 256kg from Yarralena Grazing Co at 484c/kg, while Mayfield Park Farms, Manjimup, bid to 480c/kg for 18 Yarralena Grazing Co steers weighing 265kg.
Yarralena Grazing Co's winning pen of steers for the class weighing less than 300kg sold at 454c/kg when Lexden Park, Capel, had the final bid on the pen of 21 averaging 282kg.
In the heifer run it was again a single animal from Gamezon Enterprises which took top price honours when it sold at $1651.
The 465kg heifer made the top price when it was knocked down at 355c/kg to Kalgrains.
Another five Angus heifers weighing 342kg from Gamezon Enterprises sold at 378c/kg and $1293 to KA Nelson & CA Wallinger, Narrikup.
The best price for a pen of heifers was $1556 when buyers agreed with judge Alastair Murray's thoughts and bid strongly on the champion pen of heifers from Kangarabbi Farms.
After some quick back and forth the pen which averaged 391kg was knocked down at 398c/kg to Lester Pastoral Co.
Along with buying the top-priced heifer, Kalgrains also secured 15 Black Gelbvieh-Angus cross heifers averaging 340kg from Kangarabbi Farms at 390c/kg and $1327 and Martin & Flavel's 13 Simmental cross heifers averaging 345kg, which won the blue ribbon for the best pen of heifers suitable for the feedlot, at 384c/kg and $1323.
Kalgrains wasn't the only buyer to take a liking to the Martin & Flavel heifers, WK & B Thomas paid $1251 for 12 Black Simmental cross weighing 323kg and Beacham Bros, Cardanup River, paid $1206 for 14 Simmental cross averaging 309kg.
Other heifer pens to sell at more than $1200 were 13 Angus cross averaging 329kg from TC Kiddie & Co, Albany, which made $1263 selling to WA & B Thomas and 10 Angus weighing 330kg from Mountain Valley, when they sold to Mr Hammond for a Wheatbelt feedlot at $1206.
The highest cents a kilogram price in the heifer offering was a 452c/kg bid by Mr Hammond for six Angus heifers averaging 208kg from Dijacto, Albany.
Dijacto also saw a bid of 420c/kg on 10 Angus heifers weighing 253kg from its property when it sold to Elders, Albany representative Jai Newman.
