THIS season's second instalment of Nutrien Livestock's monthly store cattle sales at the Muchea Livestock Centre last week provided plenty of highlights in another strong market.
While rain events reduced numbers from the advertised total, they were still significantly higher than the company's June store sale at the venue with the Nutrien Livestock team yarding a total of 1713 cattle, up by 727 head.
It was another quality yarding of local and pastoral weaner and yearling cattle featuring some large outstanding drafts of pastoral heifers which attracted widespread interest throughout WA and one of the biggest crowds seen at the venue.
The excellent start to the season saw spirited bidding from WA graziers against strong support from WA's feeders and exporters who were active on pastoral bulls.
Despite the greater numbers and a dip in local cattle values compared to last month's sale, increased competition on the dominant yarding of pastoral cattle saw the overall average across all descriptions jump $20 from the June sale to $1420 per head.
The sale was again interfaced on AuctionsPlus which attracted 79 registered bidders, logged in locally and from New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania, resulting in five active bidders across 28 pens of cattle, resulting in 12 online sales.
A run of local beef steers kicked proceedings off with Jamie Davies, Kalgrains, Wannamal, dominating the clerking sheet in this section buying for two orders.
He paid the section's $1993 top price for a pair of Angus steers averaging 405kg offered by Mogumber graziers GL & VL Linke outlaying 492c/kg.
In total Mr Davies collected 22 pens of local beef steers and some of his higher prices included the sale-opening pen of nine quality Angus steers weighing 384kg from the paddocks of GP Mackie & Co, New Norcia, costing $1843 at 480c/kg, while liveweight he bid to 568c/kg for a top draft of 21 Angus steers averaging 275kg returning Walton Family Trust, Wanarie, $1562.
Greg Neaves, Nutrien Livestock, Gingin, paid $1850 at 540c/kg for an excellent line of 20 Angus steers averaging 343kg offered by JR, LH & JJ Sweet, Gidgegannup.
Ty Miller, Nutrien Livestock, Wickepin, returned to Muchea to restock a local backgrounding client, collecting several lines of lighter steers and paying the sale's 622c/kg top liveweight price for five light Angus steers averaging 151kg offered by GW & NL Thomas, Gingin, to cost $939.
The sale swung onto the local beef heifers with Mr Davies again operating at the top of the market, paying the sale's $2024 overall top price at 502c/kg for four Murray Grey heifers weighing 411kg offered by Mount Ferguson Grazing.
Late in the section Mr Davies secured a seventh pen of heifers, paying $1703 at 418c/kg for two Murray Grey heifers weighing 408kg from the paddocks of VR & JL Shallcross, Wannamal.
The Mackie family's Angus draft featured again in the top prices with the opening pen of 25 heifers snapped up by Craig Walker, Nutrien Livestock, Mid West and Wheatbelt, for $1905 at 480c/kg.
Mr Walker secured the first three pens of local heifers including the Mackie's second draft of 14 heifers weighing 349kg also for 480c/kg and $1675, with the heifers heading for a breeding program at Irwin.
AuctionsPlus entered the market with a local buyer operating online, paying the 562c/kg top liveweight price for an even and well-bred draft of 15 Angus heifers averaging 314kg presented by Bush & Co, Chittering, costing $1765 and 552c/kg for five Angus heifers averaging 280kg from the Sweet family to cost $1546.
Mr Miller added a further four pens of lighter heifers to his account bidding to 560c/kg for a duo of Angus heifers tipping the scales at 205kg to cost $1148.
The dominant numbers of pastoral cattle got underway with a small run of bulls.
Rodney Galati, Brunswick, buying for Livestock Shipping Services, was the most prominent buyer with the export account totalling 15 pens of young bulls.
The list of purchases included the bulk of the bull draft offered by Meeberrie station, Murchison, paying the $1716 top per head price at 396c/kg for a trio of Droughtmaster cross bulls weighing 433kg and the entire offering of Shorthorn cross bulls from regular vendor C Harvey & Co, Badgingarra.
Kevin Fowler, buying for an eastern Wheatbelt order, took a liking to Mount Florance station's lineup of Charbray bulls collecting three pens and paying to $1608 at 448c/kg for five bulls averaging 359kg.
Skye Ogerly, representing a NSW order, paid the section's 476c/kg top liveweight price for the largest individual line of 21 Droughtmaster cross bulls weighing 205kg from Bulloo Downs Trust, Meekatharra.
Sunblade Holdings Pty Ltd, Murchison, presented a quality draft of 239 mouthed Santa Gertrudis cross steers with Mr Davies buying seven pens of heavier pastoral steers for Kalgrains including the $1785 top price at 468c/kg for 19 milk to two-tooth steers averaging 381kg, one of four pens purchased from the Sunblade consignment.
Jonathon Green, Harvey Beef, secured five pens of Sunblade steers and bid to the section's 500c/kg top price for 26 milk to two-tooth steers averaging 307kg to cost $1534.
Piesse & Maguire, Turee Creek station, Newman, also offered a significant draft of 159 mouthed predominantly Shorthorn steers but it was their solitary pen of 29 milk to two-tooth Droughtmaster cross steers averaging 333kg that topped the draft's values with Mr Green paying 480c/kg and $1601.
The much anticipated run of pastoral heifers rounded out the sale.
A substantial individual draft of 452 Droughtmaster weaner heifers from Mundabullangana station, Port Hedland, headlined the section and sold strongly to graziers throughout WA for breeding and backgrounding duties.
But the buyer to wield the most influence on the Munda heifers was Nutrien Livestock, southern livestock manager Bob Pumphrey representing the Bairstow family, Arizona Farms, Lake Grace, who secured 13 pens totalling 209 heifers paying to $1539 at 524c/kg for a line of 16 heifers weighing 294kg and 574c/kg liveweight for 20 heifers averaging 253kg to cost $1449.
Mr Pumphrey said the Bairstow family was fortunate to have an abundance of feed and water at Lake Grace and needed stock to utilise it.
"Their pastures are magnificent and the family are known for sourcing quality livestock so when these sort of cattle come onto the market, you have to look at them," he said.
"They will get the full winter and spring at Lake Grace and be marketed as breeders later in the year and being Droughtmasters, it opens up markets throughout Australia."
The other prominent buyer of pastoral heifers was Craig Walker, Nutrien Livestock, Mid West and Wheatbelt, who collected nine pens of heifers for the Hall family, Beringarra station, Upper Murchison, including four pens of Munda heifers paying their $1652 top price at 568c/kg for 18 heifers averaging 291kg.
Coolawanyah station's, Tom Price, draft of 121 PTIC and PTE Santa Gertrudis heifers were also highly sought after, topping the pastoral heifer values at $1915 for 10 PTIC milk to two-tooth heifers weighing 383kg, knocked down to a Peel buyer on AuctionsPlus for 500c/kg.
Mr Walker purchased the remaining five pens of Coolawanyah's PTIC heifers paying to $1596 and 480c/kg for 10 heifers averaging 333kg.
He said the Munda and Coolawanyah heifers would go into the breeding program at Beringarra where the Hall family was working towards a darker red herd.
"The family have undertaken a big culling program and invested in upgrading their genetics," Mr Walker said.
"They have been on the end of some handy rains so they are looking to build numbers and produce a consistent type that should attract a premium when selling their cattle."
The Coolawanyah draft's PTE heifer prices topped at $1469 at 470c/kg for four heifers averaging 313kg going to a northern WA buyer on AuctionsPlus and the section's 582c/kg top liveweight price for 11 heifers weighing 235kg cost a Great Southern buyer on AuctionsPlus $1370.
Davies River Pastoral Partnership's, Noreena Downs station, Newman, draft of 87 Droughtmaster heifers topped the unjoined values with two heifers averaging 455kg knocked down to Mr Fowler's order for $1684 at 370c/kg.
Sunblade's draft of 97 Santa Gertrudis and Shorthorn cross heifers topped at 500c/kg and $1370 for their first pen of 20 Santa heifers averaging 274kg purchased by Stockdale Farms.
WHAT THE AGENT SAID
NUTRIEN Livestock AuctionsPlus level one assessor and sale co-ordinator Simon Green said the second store sale for Nutrien Livestock at Muchea for 2021 was a raging success.
"It was an absolute pleasure to present our clients' stock," Mr Green said.
"With numbers lower than expected because of the rain, the sale went ahead with some of the State's best bred cattle offered.
"Many people at the sale made comment on how many people actually attended with the car park overflowing for the first time in the centre's history.
"Again we saw action from AuctionsPlus which also allows us to advertise and showcase the quality of stock presented.
"Already we have massive interest for the upcoming store cattle sale at Muchea in August."