AT the present rate, vendors will soon consider armoured cars to safely carry their proceeds home.
The Nutrien Livestock store cattle sale at Boyanup last week continued the upward trend of prices, breaking the $2000 barrier for both beef, beef cross and Friesian steers.
The sale saw 1610 cattle penned and they sold to gross $2,338,379, up more than $100,000 on last month's Nutrien Livestock sale at Boyanup.
Beef steers topped at $2035 to be a top increase of $180 with 522c/kg eclipsing the 504c/kg at the previous sale.
Beef heifers sold to $1815, recording an increase of $70 and 20c/kg when prices reached 484c/kg.
Beef cross steers pipped them all by selling to $2132 and 408c/kg.
Friesian steers continued attracting strong competition to reach $2077 with this a massive lift of $260 when selling to 390c/kg.
Beef poddies made $1033 at 532c/kg while dairy poddies topped at $1041 at the heavy end and 498c/kg paid for lighter calves.
Possibly the only slight hiccup were the unmated bucket-reared, first-cross heifers that sold to $1060 for quality females, with most expecting higher following the strong mated female sales.
One pen of mated heifers sold for $2000 while mated cows sold over a small variance from $1950 to $2200.
AuctionsPlus lifted the tempo of the sale, securing 50 lines of cattle following buying 40 pens at the Boyanup weaner sale on Wednesday.
Three Angus steers from Wyllie Group in the first pen topped the beef steers when Swansea Street Meat Market made the trip worthwhile by paying $2035 for the 588kg steers at 346c/kg.
Graeme Brown was busy all sale, starting with the next pen of 11 weighing 454kg from Oliver Sudintas that cost $1763 and 388c/kg.
The pen is destined for Princess Royal Trading, Burra, South Australia, and was one of 20 pens which were bought for this feedlot.
Another 10 grey steers also went to Princess Royal Trading at a cost of $1804 at 398c/kg early in the sale.
Kevin Taylor, Capel, saw his 10 Charolais weighing 426kg go on the truck also to South Australia for $1842 and 426c/kg.
With one of the largest drafts, Silverlands Stud Farm, Bridgetown, saw its 12 pens of Angus weaners all sell to AuctionsPlus for up to $1682 paid for 12 weighing 355kg at 474c/kg.
Its last pen of 13 weighing 221kg sold to the top of 522c/kg costing AuctionsPlus $1157.
Simmental steers trucked from Nannup by RM Lee topped at $1859 paid by Kalgrains, Wannamal, for 10 weighing 438kg.
The small offering of beef poddies saw six grey calves averaging 128kg top at 532c/kg when Nutrien Livestock, Harvey/Brunswick agent Errol Gardiner paid $682 for the calves from Casad P/L.
Swansea Street Meat Market also snapped up the first heifer sold, weighing 510kg this female from Stonefield Farm cost $1815 at 356c/kg.
Nutrien Livestock, Margaret River agent Jock Embry bid to 412c/kg for nine Charolais sold account Kevin Taylor with the 395kg heifers costing $1627.
Lighter heifers from Silverlands Stud Farm saw the first two pens bought by Alex Roberts, Elders Boyanup, costing $1354 and $1329 at 464c/kg and 450c/kg and these will return next season as mated heifers.
The remaining four pens of these all went to AuctionsPlus to a top of $1238 and the top of 484c/kg paid for 237kg heifers.
Beef cross steers saw a single animal of 820kg top for F & J Logrande when Western Meat Packers (WMP) paid $2132 at 260c/kg.
Another seven weighing 654kg in the pen went to Jamie Davies at 324c/kg to return $2119.
Harris Beef sold four pens of Angus cross including a line of 10 weighing 462kg that cost Greg Jones, $1718.
Thirteen grey steers from RG Major, Williams, weighing 285kg took out the top of 408c/kg when bought by Ralph Mosca, Nutrien Livestock, Harvey.
A single Friesian steer from F & J Logrande weighing 775kg sold to WMP for $2077 at 268c/kg.
Next highest were six steers weighing 589kg from F Slee & Son, Busselton, that went to Melrose Enterprises, Donnybrook, for $1826 and 310c/kg.
Quality steers from NL & E Haddon, Yoongarillup, again were in demand, topping at $1790 paid by Mr Embry for his Cowaramup client.
The top of 390c/kg was paid by Lexden Park, Capel, for 10 steers weighing 337kg from CW & M Borlini, Dardanup, that returned $1316.
Dairy poddies saw an unprecedented top of $1041 paid by RL Guidici for 14 mature calves sold by Kelly-Brae, Gelorup.
Mr Gardiner bid to 498c/kg for the babies of the sale, 10 weighing 144kg that returned $717 for Casad P/L.
Mr Gardiner also paid $792 for 12 more Casad calves as well as $874 for 17 sold by BD Yates at 432c/kg.
Three pens of Angus-Friesian cross, bucket-reared heifers from Trevelys P/L, Denmark, topped at $1060 for seven bought by Beryl Eatts after Carbon Plus paid $1000 for the first pen of nine heifers.
Mr Embry picked up nine also, paying $960.
Trevelys offered the only pen of mated heifers, a line of ten that sold to Nutrien Livestock, Waroona agent, Richard Pollock at $2000.
The best of the mated cows, mainly second and third calvers reached $2200 for the first six sold account Oldpenny Holdings.
Newburn Grazing had several pens of mated cows that saw AuctionsPlus take them all to a top of $2150.
Two pens of Murray Grey cows sold by Yackaboon Contracting, Boddington, made $2000 and $1950 respectively and were heading across the Nullarbor also.
What the agent said:
NUTRIEN Livestock, Boyanup agent and auctioneer Chris Waddingham said traditionally the store market tends to ease in WA further into summer however this was certainly not the trend at today's store sale offering.
"Buyers included restockers, lotfeeders, live exporters, backgrounders and Eastern States buyers via AuctionsPlus," Mr Waddingham said.
"In general terms beef steers sold 10-35c/kg higher than our last store sale and heifers were up 45c/kg.
"Friesian steers gained 10-30c/kg and a good run of first-cross steers more than 400kg sold to a high of 388c/kg.
"Friesian poddies regularly sold over 400c/kg and were heavily sought after.
" A New South Wales buyer purchased most of the mixed breed mature aged PTIC cows averaging just over $2000."
