NUMBERS, quality and a conventional market ease was the nutshell summary at the Nutrien Livestock monthly store cattle sale at Boyanup on August 6.
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The Nutrien Livestock South West team yarded smack on advertised numbers with a quality yarding of 1602 store beef and dairy cattle featuring plenty of weight and condition in a wet winter fixture and several drafts of quality owner-bred cattle from annual sale vendors.
Though a majority of descriptions were quoted as softened by varying degrees, the sale still averaged $1545 across the increased yarding, back only $124 on the company's July sale average.
In the liveweight beef section weaner steers averaged 540 cents a kilogram and heifers 510c/kg, while yearling steers averaged 410c/kg and heifers 393c/kg.
Dairy origin cattle saw heavyweight Friesian steers average 348c/kg, yearling steers 370c/kg, weaner steers 490c/kg and poddy calves 535c/kg.
The line-up of first cross cattle saw feeder steers average 373c/kg, yearling steers 425c/kg, weaner steers 590c/kg and poddy calves 676c/kg.
In the appraisal section mated mature cows with two to four-month-old calves at foot sold to $3400, while PTIC mature cows topped at $2450 and PTIC heifers $2400.
A run of beef steers featuring quality drafts of well grown owner-bred steers kicked off the sale with Skye Ogerly buying for Avon Valley Beef, paying the section's $2276 top price at 406c/kg for a large line of 16 Angus steers averaging 561kg, offered by VK Price.
KL & SA Payne, Capel, offered 39 even well-bred Angus steers weighing from 410-457kg with Campbell Nettleton, Harvey Beef, an active buyer throughout the heavier pens of beef steers and paid the Payne's $2240 top price for the 10 heaviest steers with a 490c/kg bid.
John Gallop secured several pens of beef steers for a southern lotfeeder, paying to $2146 at 508c/kg for 10 of the Payne steers weighing 423kg.
GJ & DM Battle, Dardanup, presented two top pens of even well grown Angus steers with Mr Gallop outlaying their $2143 top price at 380c/kg for nine steers averaging 564kg, this time for a Peel order.
Jamie Abbs, Nutrien Livestock, Boyup Brook, representing a South Australian lot feeding order collected two pens of Angus steers bidding to 492c/kg liveweight for five Charolais steers weighing 410kg from Browtin Farm to cost $2017.
Beef steer liveweight prices topped at 592c/kg for 12 Red Angus steers weighing 249kg from the Myalup paddocks of Runnymeade Farm costing Richard Pollock, Nutrien Livestock, Waroona, $1473, who also snapped up the previous pen of 12 Runnymeade Red Angus steers.
Bob Pumphrey, Nutrien Livestock, Albany, bid the next highest price of 586c/kg for the final pen of 12 Angus steers weighing 223kg from FL & MJ Dewar to cost $1304.
Beef heifers were fewer in number with JM Hull & TA King claiming the section's $2005 top-priced honours with a single 475kg Speckle Park heifer knocked down to Leno Vigolo, Nutrien Livestock, Central Midlands and Wheatbelt, for 422c/kg.
It was the only heifer to make the $2000 mark although a single 535kg South Devon heifer from the paddocks of A & B Mountford fell just short when it sold for $1980 at 370c/kg.
A Wheatbelt feeder through the bidding of Alex Roberts, Elders, Boyanup, secured a couple of pens of Angus heifers, paying to $1794 at 472c/kg for seven averaging 380kg offered by J & L Rodgers, while John Eric McLeod's two pens of Limousin cross heifers topped at $1742 for eight averaging 440kg purchased by Rob Gibbings, Elders, Capel.
Hull & King also claimed the top liveweight heifer value with another single Speckle Park heifer weighing 160kg, which was knocked down to Mr Roberts for 635c/kg and $1016.
Craig Martin, Elders, Brunswick/Collie, snapped up two pens of the Dewar's Angus heifers, bidding to 602c/kg for 13 weighing 208kg to cost $1250.
A strong yarding of first cross steers featured some large drafts of quality owner bred steers including NL & E Haddon, Busselton, which opened the section with an outstanding draft of 35 heavy Angus cross steers.
Mr Gallop secured four of their five pens paying from $2504 to the sale's $2469 overall top price for seven weighing 666kg at 386c/kg.
Laureldene Farms, Boyanup, was among the sale's largest vendors with 89 first cross steers selling to $2310 at 376c/kg for eight Angus cross steers weighing 614kg, purchased by VA & MP Wright.
IA & HE Noakes, Karridale, was another bigger vendor of first cross steers which sold to $1712 at 430c/kg for eight Angus cross weighing 398kg selling to Nutrien Livestock pastoral agent Shane Flemming for a northern lotfeeder.
M Angi & Sons topped the sale's overall liveweight price with the final pen of 14 Angus cross poddy steers weighing 146kg being purchased by Phil Musitano, Brunswick, for 690c/kg and $1008.
C & L Italiano & Sons, Harvey, had two pens of first cross poddy steers that sold to strong liveweight values topping at 642c/kg for six Angus cross steers weighing 158kg to cost Errol Gardiner, Nutrien Livestock, Brunswick/Harvey, $1011, while Mr Pollock bid 624c/kg for five Hereford cross poddy steers weighing 153kg offered by GR & SA Rowe to cost $955.
Friesian steers were in dominant numbers with Mr Gallop paying top dollar for the opening pen of eight Friesian steers weighing 583kg, one of three pens of steers purchased from P & T Curulli & Son, Harvey, knocked down for 358c/kg and $2085.
Mr Gallop also paid $2078 for a pen of eight Curulli steers, weighing 587kg.
Greg Jones battled it out on the heavier Friesian steers and finished with four pens, paying to $1930 and 332c/kg for eight steers weighing 581kg offered by R & C Italiano & Sons, Harvey.
JT & CA Warwick Pty Ltd's draft of 72 Friesian steers sold to $1910 at 350c/kg for seven weighing 546kg, purchased by Mr Abbs.
Other bigger vendor drafts of younger Friesian steers included P & G Oates which topped at $1439 at 468c/kg for a pen of 14 averaging 308kg, knocked down to Allan Pearce, Nutrien Livestock, Albany.
Laureldene Farms' run of 62 Friesian steers sold to $1526 and 446c/kg for weights ranging from 313-398kg, Gundagai Dairy's draft of 79 Friesian steers weighing from 190-237kg sold to $1182 and 534c/kg and AC & CA Jenkins Family Trust, Denmark, offered 73 Friesian poddies which topped at $1215 at 500c/kg for 12, averaging 243kg to buyer SH Fry & Sons.
Wade Krawczyk, Elders, Busselton, paid the top liveweight price of 634c/kg for 11 Friesian steers weighing 160kg trucked in by AJ & NL Stanford, while HJ Carter & Co bid the next highest of 630c/kg for 18 poddies averaging 132kg from the M Angi & Sons draft costing $831.
A couple of pens of first cross Angus heifer poddies sold appraisal to $720 for a trio offered by G & PA Angi.
Topping the cow and calf prices was the opening line of 10 Angus cows with Angus calves at foot that had been running back with a Cherylton Angus bull from May 18 to August 2, while a mixed pen of four cows with Murray Grey calves at foot running back with a Speckle Park bull from June 1 to August 5 offered by Hull & King sold for $3300.
A line of 14 Angus heifers PTIC to a Charolais bull due February to March, trucked in by KJ Grazing, proved good buying when they sold to Mr Vigolo for $2400 as did a draft of 43 rising sixth calving Angus cows PTIC to an Angus bull due to calve form October 25 to December 27 from Elysian Fields which topped at $2450 for 10 cows going to Mr Gardiner.
WHAT THE AGENT SAID
NUTRIEN Livestock auctioneer and Capel agent Chris Waddingham said this month's yarding consisted of some outstanding drafts of owner bred cattle.
"These are historically sold at this time of year due to producers locking up paddocks for fodder production," Mr Waddingham said,
"The offering had significantly more heavyweight cattle than previous store sales reflecting the outstanding season so far.
"Buyer activity was still strong and with the exception of the heavyweight slaughter grade Friesian and first cross steers which were 15c/kg dearer, the balance of the market tempered slightly as is common at this time of the growing season."
