WEIGHT, quality and numbers delivered continued strong returns for breeders at the penultimate WALSA weaner sale at Boyanup for 2021 two week ago.
The Nutrien Livestock and Elders South West livestock teams presented another full yarding with a combined total of 1581 new season steer and heifer beef weaners that were weaned for a minimum of 10 days, just shy of advertised numbers.
The sale featured some large first drafts of weaners from well-known cow/calf producers from the South West and Upper Great Southern regions and sold accordingly with restockers bidding up on select lines of heifers for breeding.
WA's lotfeeders were again well-represented with stiff competition on feeder weight lines from Eastern States' lotfeeders, grass fatteners and an exporter.
Backgrounders, mainly operating through their agent, were strong on the limited number of lighter weights less than 300 kilograms as they look to restock paddocks and utilise hay/silage stocks bearing the fruits of an excellent season in the South West.
At the completion of selling, auctioneers Chris Waddingham, Nutrien Livestock and Pearce Watling, Elders, had recorded another big result for their clients, averaging $2039 across all weights and descriptions.
This was almost on par with the previous sale at the venue, just $4 back on the overall average where a larger combined yarding of 1774 weaners averaged $2043.
But it's the year-on-year average which shows the growth of the WA beef market over the past 12 months with the corresponding sale last year averaging $1361 for 1364 weaners sold, a considerable $678 difference.
The heavier yarding saw liveweight values down with steers averaging 608 cents per kilogram, down 10c/kg on the previous sale average and 565c/kg for heifers, losing the previous sale's gain of 35c/kg (MLA).
The sale was interfaced on AuctionsPlus but online activity was mostly quiet.
Nutrien Livestock
Nutrien Livestock's run of 1086 weaners kicked off proceedings which featured several large outstanding, even and well-bred drafts of Angus, Murray Grey and Charolais calves penned in vendor runs.
Cowaramup/Dardanup vendor Treeton Lake's draft of 102 Angus steers weighing from 300-435kg topped the overall sale, with Nutrien Livestock, Brunswick/Harvey agent Errol Gardiner outlaying $2506 at 576c/kg for its heaviest pen of 10 steers weighing 435kg.
Armed with a prominent order/s, Mr Gardiner got the sale off to a strong start, collecting the first nine pens of steers including six from the Treeton Lake draft.
He also snapped up the three pens of nine Angus steers offered by DR & DJ Roche Family Trust, paying to $2499 at 548c/kg for the opening pen, averaging 456kg.
Deep South vendors Durnbond Pty Ltd's, Walpole, draft of 100 Murray Grey cross steers weighing from 343-357kg topped at $2225 with Nutrien Livestock, Margaret River/Busselton agent Jock Embry bidding 624c/kg for 10 steers averaging 357kg on behalf of a southern feeder, while Graeme Brown, also buying for an eastern Wheatbelt feeder order, collected several pens of the Durnbond steers paying to $2204 at 620c/kg for 10 steers weighing 356kg.
These two buyers maintained their buying in the Murray River Farms, Waroona, draft of 100 Angus steers weighing from 338-361kg with Mr Embry paying its $2202 top price at 610c/kg for a pen of 10 steers averaging 361kg.
The biggest individual draft of 225 mixed sex Angus weaners descended from the Bridgetown/Boyup Brook paddocks of Dwalganup Grazing.
Drafted into big lines following full curfew, its steers topped at $2275 for 26 averaging 360kg which were penned alongside 26 of their stablemates weighing 357kg in the outer holding pens with Nutrien Livestock, Boyup Brook agent Jamie Abbs swooping on the option to take the lot with one 632c/kg bid.
Boddington vendor TV & GP Salmeri's draft of 58 Angus steers sold to $2146 with Mr Brown booking two pens of nine steers on an ocean voyage with the top pen weighing 346kg to cost 620c/kg.
Mr Gardiner bought all of Len Blyth's, Manjimup-based, 53 Charolais cross steers paying to $2389 at 580c/kg for 11 averaging 412kg, while Love & Son's, Pinjarra, draft of 66 Murray Grey cross steers topped the section's liveweight values with Cam Harris, Elders, Manjimup, paying 704c/kg for the draft's 12 lighter steers weighing 251kg for a local client to cost $1769.
Dwalganup Grazing's Angus draft topped the heifer values with Mr Abbs paying $2274 at 632c/kg for 24 weighing 360kg, as were 24 weighing 342kg snapped up by Mr Watling for the section's 634c/kg top liveweight price to cost $2165.
Mr Blyth's 62 Charolais cross heifers were sought after by feeders with Semini Enterprises Pty Ltd paying the draft's $1971 top price for one of two pens containing 10 averaging 378kg at 522c/kg.
Elders
In the Elders line-up of 495 weaners, Mr Brown paid the section's top steer price of $2502 at 498c/kg for a duo of Angus steers weighing 503kg offered by D Hollins which are heading to a South Australian feedlot.
The same account also paid the next highest values of $2470 at 562kg for the run's first pen of 11 Angus steers weighing 440kg trucked in by Dilkes Farm, Bridgetown, $2393 at 558c/kg for nine Charolais cross steers weighing 430kg from the paddocks of Glencorrie Farms, Boyanup, $2322 at 540c/kg for five Angus steers weighing 430kg offered by Raven-Jay Holdings, Kirup and $2250 at 554c/kg for four Angus steers averaging 406kg from DR Townsend.
John Gallop paid $2245 for two pens of steers for an Esperance order, first for 14 Angus steers weighing 394kg from Stirling Estate Chalets at 570c/kg and two Charolais cross steers averaging 393kg from the Glencorrie draft at 572c/kg.
Thomson Brook vendors Glencoe Grazing's draft topped the liveweight values with seven Angus steers weighing 224kg knocked down to sale co-ordinator and Nutrien Livestock, Peel, representative Ralph Mosca on behalf of a grazier account for 720c/kg and $1615.
Mr Mosca previously bid 704c/kg for two Angus steers weighing 233kg from the Raven-Jay draft to cost $1637 and Mr Harris followed up his earlier purchase of light steers paying 700c/kg and $1757 for 10 Angus steers weighing 251kg offered by DM & ND Kelly, Binningup.
Dilkes Farm's heifers also featured in the top prices with the section's first line of eight Angus heifers averaging 376kg, secured by Mr Abbs at $2069 and 550c/kg for the same grazier account and also likely to later go to a bull.
Rodney Galati, Brunswick, representing a northern feeder order, outlaid the next highest value of $2035 at 550c/kg for three Angus heifers tipping the scales at 370kg from the Townsend's draft and a few pens earlier paid $2013 at 570c/kg for a decent line of 14 Angus cross steers from B & D Telini, Dardanup, for his own account.
Other higher heifer values included $1995 and 496c/kg paid by the Seminis for 11 Charolais cross heifers averaging 402kg from Glencorrie Farms and $1954 at 510c/kg for 13 Stirling Estate Chalets Angus heifers weighing 383kg going to Mr Galati's feeder order.
The sale's 672c/kg top heifer liveweight price was paid by Nutrien Livestock, Waroona agent Richard Pollock for 13 Angus heifers averaging 230kg from the Glencoe Farms draft to cost $1545, while Mr Brown collected two pens of heifers for his export order paying to 588c/kg and $1687 for eight Angus cross heifers weighing 287kg from Yallambee Estate Pty Ltd.
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