BUYERS were presented with one of the biggest yardings for the season at the WALSA Boyanup weaner sale on January 20, with 1775 head penned between conducting agents Nutrien Livestock and Elders.
Despite the large yarding. prices remained similar for heifers and slightly softer for steers compared to the previous sale, ensuring the market continued on its buoyant way.
The main difference compared to the previous week's sale were lightweight steers which eased 40c/kg and mediumweights that softened 10c/kg due to reduced live export demand and competition from the Eastern States, which at this sale tended to favour the heifer section.
The main competition in the sale was from WA feedlot operations and South West graziers along with Eastern States' bidders operating on AuctionsPlus.
There were 30 registered bidders logged into the sale on AuctionsPlus from New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and WA and between them they placed 143 online bids on 54 lots, resulting in 234 head (24 per cent of the catalogue) being purchased online.
Steers sold from 350 to 534 cents a kilogram and topped at $1850, while the heifer portion made from 274-478c/kg and peaked at $1586.
By the completion of the sale auctioneers Chris Waddingham, Nutrien Livestock and Alec Williams, Elders, had tallied a gross of more than $2.519 million for the sale, to result in the yarding averaging $1419 a head.
Nutrien Livestock
It was the Nutrien Livestock team's turn to kick the sale off last week and its yarding consisted of 1023 head.
The sale kicked off perfectly with a top run of heavy Angus steers and it was in the very first pen that the $1850 steer top price was achieved.
Creating the interest among buyers and selling at the top price was a pen of 11 Angus steers averaging 447 kilograms from the Muir family, GD Muir & Co, Mordallup Angus stud, Manjimup, when it was knocked down at 414c/kg to Kalgrains, Wannamal.
Along with the top-priced pen the Muirs sold the next eight pens in the offering which all contained 12 Angus steers.
The pens weighed between 356 and 412kg and sold from 424 to 442c/kg to return $1575 to $1749 a head.
Kalgrains purchased five pens and paid above the $1700 mark twice, paying $1749 for 12 head averaging 413kg and $1729 for 12 weighing 402kg.
At the lighter end of the Muir's draft Nutrien Livestock, Harvey/Brunswick agent Errol Gardiner picked up two pens for a South West grazier bidding to 442c/kg for 12 averaging 356kg and 436c/kg for 12 head weighing 364kg.
Pemberton operation LG Ockwell presented 27 classy Angus steers over three pens and Kalgrains picked two of them, bidding to 410c/kg and $1834 for nine weighing 447kg, before going to 426c/kg and $1789 for nine averaging 420kg.
Kalgrains also paid $1751 for nine Murray Grey steers weighing 415kg from Woodbee Downs when it went to 422c/kg on the pen.
Nutrien Livestock, Boyup Brook agent Jamie Abbs buying for a Wheatbelt feedlot also took some heavier steers pens including 18 Angus averaging 388kg from S & J Bolton & SP Bolton, at 436c/kg and $1691 and 13 Angus weighing 384kg offered by Illginup Farm, Bridgetown, at 434c/kg and $1664.
The Scott family, Silverlands Stud Farm, Bridgetown, were another larger vendor in the steer run offering seven pens of Angus (80 head) weighing from 224-335kg.
They sold to a top of $1508 for a line of 11 weighing 335kg when they were purchased at 450c/kg by Mr Abbs for a South West grazier.
The Scotts' lightest line at 224kg made the day's top cents per kilogram price when the 12 head were knocked down to a New South Wales buyer operating on AuctionsPlus at 534c/kg.
The same AuctionsPlus buyer also purchased 12 Angus steers weighing 261kg from Yackaboon Contracting, Quindanning, at 508c/kg and two lines of steers at 452c/kg, which consisted of 12 Angus averaging 294kg from Black Market Angus stud, Donnybrook and 14 Angus weighing 311kg from Illginup Farm.
There were two other steer lines in the run to make 500c/kg or more, the first was 17 Angus averaging 260kg from Yackaboon Contracting when they sold at 500c/kg and the other was 13 Murray Greys from Maranup Ford Grazing Co, which weighed 249kg and sold at 502c/kg.
Heifers in the Nutrien Livestock offering topped at $1534 for a single Murray Grey weighing 560kg from Woodbee Downs when it was sold at 274c/kg to Kevin Armstrong for an Eastern Wheatbelt feedlot.
Another eight Murray Greys weighing 406kg from the same home sold at 376c/kg and $1525 to Kalgrains.
Mr Armstrong added to the numbers headed to the Eastern Wheatbelt feedlot when he purchased four pens (45 head) from McIntyre Farms Pty Ltd, included in these purchases were 12 Charolais cross averaging 366kg at 408c/kg ($1494) and 12 Limousin cross weighing 342kg at 420c/kg ($1437).
Three pens of Angus heifers from EB & G Quick also created competition and sold to a top of $1469 for 22 weighing 351kg when they were knocked down at 418c/kg to Nutrien Livestock, southern manager Bob Pumphrey who was bidding on behalf of Welldon Beef, Williams.
Mr Pumphrey also purchased a second pen of 11 heifers averaging 343kg from the Quick's line-up for Welldon Beef at 426c/kg and $1460.
When it came to the top cents per kilogram price for heifers in the run it was recorded at 478c/kg when Graham Brown bid to that value for a New South Wales buyer for 13 Angus weighing 256kg from Silverlands Stud Farm.
Mr Brown also picked up another three pens of Silverlands Angus heifers for his order which included going to 464c/kg for 14 averaging 228kg and 456c/kg for a line of 13 weighing 270kg.
The biggest buyer of the light heifers was a buyer operating from New South Wales through the AuctionsPlus platform.
This buyer purchased 10 pens of heifers (129 head) which weighed from 210-310kg.
Among its purchases were 14 Murray Grey weighing 210kg at 452c/kg and eight Murray Greys averaging 275kg at 434c/kg that were from Yackaboon Contracting, as well as three pens of Simmental cross from DP & GR Cowcher, Quindanning, made up of 14 head weighing 258kg at 450c/kg plus 12 weighing 310kg and 12 averaging 275kg at 440c/kg.
Also headed the same way were two pens of Murray Greys from Love & Son - 14 averaging 249kg at 428c/kg and 14 weighing 286kg at 426c/kg plus two pens of Angus from RA & A Maiolo & Son, Narrogin and Coolup - 10 averaging 274kg at 440c/kg and 11 weighing 257kg at 436c/kg.
Elders
The Elders offering consisted of 752 weaners and it was a single Charolais steer in the offering which claimed top price honours when it made $1839.
The 440kg steer was offered by Hawterville Homestead, Mullalyup, and was eventually purchased at 418c/kg by Kalgrains.
The highest price for a pen of steers in the Elders offering also surpassed the $1800 mark and was headed to Kalgrains when the first pen in the line-up, which was offered by K & AL Payne, Capel, made $1801.
The pen of 22 Angus steers averaging 419kg from the Paynes sold at $430c/kg.
Along with selling the top-priced pen, the Paynes sold another two pens of Angus steers - 14 averaging 370kg at 436c/kg and $1613 to
S Camarri & Co, Nannup and 15 weighing 338kg at 450c/kg and $1515 to Nutrien Livestock, Waroona agent Richard Pollock.
Kalgrains was strong on the heavy steers and picked up another 11 lots (74 head) to go with its top price purchases.
Included in these lots were two pens of Limousin cross from KS & EN Roberts & Sons, Elgin - six head averaging 421kg at $418c/kg ($1759) and 12 head weighing 372kg at 430c/kg ($1598), as well as six Murray Grey cross averaging 416kg and 11 Angus cross weighing 403kg both at 420c/kg to return RE & LM Clarke, $1747 and $1693 respectively.
The Prosser family, FR & LF Prosser, Scott River, were one of the volume vendors in the run putting forward five pens (59 steers) which weighed from 320-376kg.
Elders, Brunswick representative Craig Martin purchased two pens of the Prosser calves - 12 Shorthorn cross averaging 370kg at 420c/kg and 13 Angus cross weighing 374kg at 412c/kg - for a Wheatbelt feedlot, while S Camarri & Co also purchased two pens - nine 376kg Angus cross at 434c/kg and 13 Charolais weighing 362kg at 438c/kg.
In the lighter weights, values peaked at 480c/kg for a line of 15 Charolais weighing 301kg from Callanish Grazing, Thompson Brook, when they were knocked down to Elders, Boyanup representative Alex Roberts, while a second pen of Callanish Charolais averaging 322kg were picked up by Mr Pollock at 462c/kg.
Another good return was 470c/kg for eight Angus averaging 288kg from Mt Ferguson Grazing Co, Ferguson, bid by Mr Brown, while Roemarie Enterprises, Darkan, saw a pen of its Simmental cross steers weighing 297kg go at 464c/kg to Elders, Manjimup representative Brad McDonnell.
The best heifer return in the Elders run was $1586 achieved by seven Angus weighing 399kg from BW & RW & JW Crossing, when Mr Brown purchased them at 398c/kg for Princess Royal Trading, Burra, South Australia.
The Paynes after receiving good returns for their steers also achieved strong values for their Angus heifers with their first two pens selling to Howard Griffths, HW Griffths, Ferguson Valley.
Mr Griffths paid $1565 after bidding to 430c/kg for nine weighing 364kg and $1421 for another nine which averaged 338kg.
The Prosser family sold two pens of heifers that included 11 Charolais cross averaging 385kg at 408c/kg and $1571 to Kalgrains.
Other higher returns were $1468 paid by Mr Pollock when he bid to 412c/kg for seven Angus weighing 356kg from RE & LM Clarke, while T & FV Ward saw a return of $1466 when Nutrien Livestock, Bridgetown agent Ben Cooper went to 404c/kg for its line of 14 Simmental cross heifers averaging 363kg.
Cotton Holdings, Boyanup, presented Charolais cross heifers in the sale and the best return for their three pens was $1344 for a line of eight weighing 323kg, when sold at 416c/kg to Nutrien Livestock, Margaret River agent Jock Embry, while Nutrien Livestock, Manjimup representative Brett Chatley bid to 456c/kg, the best liveweight price in the run, for a pen of 15 averaging 267kg from the operation.
A big line of 24 Charolais heifers weighing 312kg from Callanish Grazing also achieved one of the higher liveweight prices, selling at 440c/kg to GR & LC Christian.
Mt Ferguson Grazing Co sold numerous heifer pens including 15 Angus cross weighing 298kg at 432c/kg and 11 Gelbvieh cross averaging 297kg at 428c/kg to Phil Noakes, TR & IL Noakes, Witchcliffe, while the NSW AuctionsPlus buyer went to 444c/kg for seven Gelbvieh cross weighing 262kg.
Also knocked down to the AuctionsPlus account were seven Limousin cross averaging 283kg MC & CL Telini, Dardanup, at 430c/kg and nine Simmental cross weighing 285kg from Roemarie Enterprises at 434c/kg.
The Telini family also saw a bid of 430c/kg for a pen of 14 Limousin cross weighing 323kg from their property when they were secured by Mr Roberts.
