A FAVOURABLE break to the season in large parts of the South West further fuelled a red hot cattle market at the Nutrien Livestock monthly store cattle sale at Boyanup last Friday.
The Nutrien Livestock South West team yarded an excellent quality line-up of 1726 beef and dairy cattle which attracted buoyant buying support from all sectors of the industry to see the majority of categories dearer than the previous market.
The sale averaged $1487 across all descriptions, which was up $17 on the previous peak of $1470 seen at Nutrien Livestock's previous sale at Boyanup.
Featuring at the sale was a large number of quality owner-bred beef heifers which sold to extremely strong demand from graziers who were chasing replacements for the coming joining season.
This saw a steep rise of up to 75c/kg on the previous sale and average 523c/kg, up 15c/kg on the previous record.
Beef steers averaged 551c/kg, also up 15c/kg on the record set at the previous sale.
Broken down, lightweight steers less than 200kg averaged 588c/kg, steers 200-280kg averaged 557c/kg and heavier steers more than 330kg averaged 510c/kg.
Light beef heifers less than 200kg averaged 530c/kg, 200-330kg heifers averaged 497c/kg and heavier heifers more than 330kg averaged 527c/kg.
In the dairy section, heavy Friesian feeder steers averaged 348c/kg, up 6c/kg and first cross feeder steers sold to 380c/kg, down by 15c/kg.
Yearling Friesian steers averaged 400c/kg, up 44c/kg and first cross yearling steers averaged 445c/kg.
Lightweight Friesian steers less than 200kg averaged 559c/kg, steers ranging from 200-280kg averaged 516c/kg and heavier Friesian steers 280-330kg averaged 450c/kg, while light first cross steers less than 200kg averaged 639c/kg.
The sale was again interfaced on AuctionsPlus, split into the beef and dairy section online, with 599 catalogue views resulting in 19 registered bidders logged in locally and from New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland and 91 online bids placed across 15 lots with 11 lots selling to AuctionsPlus buyers.
The sale kicked off with a good quality line-up of beef steers and the section's $2037 top price was paid by Kevin Armstrong, Willowbank, Benger, representing a northern feeder order, for the second pen containing nine Angus cross steers weighing 424kg, offered by M & S Kirkham, knocked down for 480c/kg.
Mr Armstrong collected a further four pens of heavier steers at the top of the market including the next highest price of $1953 at 474c/kg for the Kirkham's 10 Murray Grey cross steers averaging 412kg in the following pen.
Catalano Farms offered a few pens of Angus cross steers with Mr Armstrong buying their top pen of nine weighing 359kg for $1948 at 542c/kg and went beyond the $1900 mark for 13 Angus steers averaging 360kg from HY Armstrong, paying 536c/kg to cost $1928.
Hyden graziers CJM & NJ Tapper's well-bred and presented annual draft of 66 Murray Grey steers weighing from 291kg to 353kg were appreciated by buyers, with John Gallop paying their $1898 top price for the 11 heaviest steers at 538c/kg for a southern lotfeeding order.
Jamie Abbs, Nutrien Livestock, Boyup Brook, secured the draft's second pen of 11 steers weighing 349kg for $1890 at 542c/kg for an Eastern Wheatbelt feeder buyer.
The 600c/kg top liveweight price for beef steers was bid for nine Angus steers weighing 199kg trucked in by Southampton Grazing costing Pearce Watling, Elders Donnybrook, $1197.
C & P Barber & Son paid strong liveweight values for two pens of steers offered by Williams River Produce with their top price of 588c/kg going to 18 Angus steers weighing 242kg.
DW & MJ Rees, Collie, offered an even draft of South Devon steers with Alex Roberts, Elders Boyanup, snapping these up to a top liveweight price of 584c/kg for a draft of 17 steers averaging 215kg to cost $1257.
The sale's strong numbers of beef heifers was largely boosted by a couple of big drafts of owner-bred Angus heifers that made the journey from the Esperance region.
Graziers swooped on suitable lines for replacements, with M & AJ Bell topping this market with two pens of 13 Angus heifers knocked down for $2108 and $2085 to Dean Taaffe, Nutrien Livestock, Donnybrook, and Jock Embry, Nutrien Livestock, Margaret River, respectively for weights of 390kg (540c/kg) and 385kg (542c/kg).
The Esperance Angus heifers saw the biggest draft of 149 offered by Ridley Plains which just pipped their counterparts for top-price honours with their opening line of 10 weighing 379kg purchased by Steve Harris, Westcoast Wool Livestock, Great Southern, for $2051 at 542c/kg.
AuctionsPlus entered the market and had a prominent influence on this section of the sale and included in its heifer purchases was eight pens of the Ridley Plains heifers costing to $1865 at 550c/kg for 10 heifers weighing 339kg.
The draft of 80 Angus heifers from Willawayup Farms Pty Ltd topped at $2025 for 11 heifers weighing 370kg knocked down to Manjimup graziers F Pessotto & Sons for 548c/kg.
Errol Gardiner, Nutrien Livestock, Brunswick/Harvey, sourced five pens of heifers from Willawayup Farms for a South West grazier paying from $1870 to a top price of $1902 at 554c/kg for a line of 12 heifers weighing 343kg.
James Wringe, Castledene Enterprises, paid the 560c/kg top beef heifer liveweight price for 11 Willawayup Farms heifers averaging 356kg to cost $1991.
Also from the Esperance area was 15 Angus heifers weighing 336kg offered by Sanderson Brothers which were knocked down to AuctionsPlus for $1833 and 546c/kg.
AuctionsPlus also bid 554c/kg for 13 Angus heifers weighing 296kg from the paddocks of W & LM Holland to cost $1641, while the Rees family's draft of 68 lighter South Devon heifers sold to strong liveweight values with two pens topping at 540c/kg.
McIntyre Farms, Waroona, was also among the sale's larger vendors with a total draft of 101 mainly Charolais cross beef steers and heifers which sold to $1733 and 544c/kg for steers and $1678 and 500c/kg for heifers.
The sale then swung to the line-up of dairy origin cattle starting with an excellent run of first cross steers.
Processors competed strongly on the heavier pens with Greg Jones cleaning up the three pens of Angus cross steers weighing from 618kg to 679kg offered by R & C Italiano, paying from $2348 and $2581 at 380c/kg.
Jonathon Green, Harvey Beef, then secured the next three pens of Angus cross steers ranging from 459kg to 496kg offered by MJ & CS Scott paying to $2184 and 442c/kg.
Evans Dairy topped the section's liveweight values with two pens of Angus cross poddy steers selling to Mr Gardiner for 648c/kg and 630c/kg for weights of 162kg ($1051) and 201kg ($1263).
Evans Dairy offered decent numbers of poddies of several dairy breed descriptions including 13 Montbeliard steers weighing 204kg that sold for the sale's top overall liveweight price of 650c/kg and $1323, also paid by Mr Gardiner.
The Italianos returned to the top-price honours with the opening pen of 12 Friesian steers weighing 613kg knocked down to Mr Gallop for a local order for the section's $2231 top price and 364c/kg.
C & R Angi offered a few pens of Friesian steers weighing from 522kg to 571kg that topped at $2000 for the heaviest pen of seven purchased by VA & MP Wright.
MK & EJ & LK MacDonald's five pens of heavier Friesian steers sold strongly with the family's heaviest pen of seven weighing 598kg knocked down for $1985 and 332c/kg to Mr Jones for a processor.
TD & JD Norton's draft of 107 younger Friesian steers sold to $1282 for 12 weighing 262kg to Terry Tarbotton, Elders Nannup, while a pen of their 17 poddies averaging 138kg topped the section's liveweight values at 592c/kg, purchased by Mr Gardiner.
Another of the larger dairy vendors HD & AL & NJ Lindberg offered 50 Friesian steers in five pens with Richard Pollock, Nutrien Livestock, Waroona, filling a couple of orders, snared the lot paying to $1447 at 356c/kg for 10 steers weighing 407kg.
A short run of unmated first cross heifers sold appraisal to a top at $1680 for a duo of baldy Hereford cross heifers vet checked and suitable to breed offered by GR & SA Rowe which were secured by GR Lee.
The sale was rounded out with four yearling Angus bulls fit for service offered by Willowbank Agistment which sold from $3000 to $3300.
WHAT THE AGENT SAID
Nutrien Livestock auctioneer and Capel agent Chris Waddingham said it was a very good quality offering of store cattle presented at Boyanup.
"While the yarding comprised the normal numbers of beef and Friesian steers, the feature of the yarding was a large number of owner-bred Angus heifers suitable for replacement breeders," Mr Waddingham said.
"Local graziers, lotfeeders and backgrounders competed strongly on these in a market that has been quoted as 50-75c/kg dearer than the previous market at this venue.
"All other classes of livestock also sold dearer in a very strong market."
