Averages reach $2038 across all breeds

It's an all too familiar story for WA cattle sales this summer but again this was the nutshell summary of Nutrien Livestock's monthly store cattle sale at Boyanup last week.

The Nutrien Livestock team yarded just shy of 1200 head of beef and dairy origin cattle with the fruitful South West season continuing to deliver as quality keeps rolling into the yards.

At the end of selling, the Nutrien Livestock selling team had chalked up an impressive average of $2038 across all breeds and descriptions.

This was $77 stronger than the previous sale at the venue with the market generally fully firm if not slightly dearer across most descriptions, although an increased yarding of breeding females provided a healthy boost to the sale average.

Heavier yearling beef steers sold to $2510 and 478c/kg while weaned and unweaned new season steers topped at $2360 and 676c/kg, while in the beef heifers, yearlings sold to $2340 and 452c/kg and younger calves topped at $2334 and 600c/kg.

In the line-up of dairy origin cattle, heavy first cross steers more than 650kg sold to $2408 and 400c/kg, while lighter weights less than 360kg reached $1701 and 534c/kg.

Heavy older Friesian steer values reached $2383 and 398c/kg while poddies topped at 775c/kg and $1406.

The breeding female section of the sale saw vendor guaranteed unjoined first cross heifers make $1550 and PTIC beef heifers top at $3950, while mature cow values topped at $4400 for PTIC beef cows, $4200 for mated beef cow and calf units and a pen of second calving first cross cows sold for $4000.

The sale kicked off on the decent run of beef steers with a pen of Murray Grey yearling steers weighing 558kg offered by Yoralyn taking top-price honours when knocked down to Nutrien Livestock, Boyup Brook agent Jamie Abbs for $2510 at 450c/kg.

The opening pen of seven Angus cross steers averaging 538kg, trucked in by Woodland Cattle Co, were snapped-up, by Greg Jones for $2485 at 462c/kg.

A quality run of 16-month-old Charolais and Angus cross steers offered by PG & DI Kau topped at $2465 for four Charolais cross weighing 531kg selling to the sale's most prominent buyer Nutrien Livestock, Waroona agent Richard Pollock for a Wheatbelt feeder at 464c/kg.

Harvey Beef's Jonathon Green collected the remaining five pens of the Kau cattle, paying to $2441 at 470c/kg for seven Angus cross steers averaging 519kg.

Mr Pollock collected numerous pens of beef steers for his feeder order including the three pens of Angus cross steers offered by John McLeod, Allanson, paying to $2360 at 556c/kg for nine steers weighing 424kg.

Armed with a couple of feeder orders, John Gallop was influential in this section and paid to $2283 at 546c/kg for eight well-bred and presented Angus steers weighing 418kg from Mastaglia Bros.

Mr Pollock's attention turned to the lightweights for a grazier client and paid the 676c/kg top liveweight price for eight Angus steers weighing 261kg from Toscana WA Pty Ltd to cost $1766, one of several pens of lighter steers at the top of the market.

Allen Bentham, Delaney Livestock Services, secured a few pens of lighter weight steers at strong liveweight values bidding to 626c/kg for 12 Angus cross steers weighing 301kg from DM Tuia & P & L Folatti ($1915) and seven Murray Grey cross steers averaging 310kg from Object Star Consultants ($1941).

A single marked out heavy Angus heifer tipping the scales at 560kg offered by CJ Kemp topped the beef heifer values at $2352 when knocked down to Rob Gibbings, Elders Capel, for $2352 at 420c/kg.

Mr Abbs paid the next highest price for one of two pens of Murray Grey yearling heifers presented by Eze Cattle Company paying to $2340 at 444c/kg for five weighing 527kg and later added $2109 at 524c/kg for eight Charolais cross heifers weighing 403kg from the paddocks of K & M Taylor.

The Kau's cattle featured again with Mr Jones paying $2334 at 420c/kg for eight Charolais cross heifers averaging 556kg.

Liveweight prices topped at 600c/kg for seven Angus cross heifers averaging 288kg from the Tuia and Folatti draft to cost Graham Brown $1727 for live export and Mr Pollock also bid top dollar for five Angus cross heifers weighing 195kg offered by Balajup to cost $1170.

Nutrien Livestock Margaret River/Busselton agent Jock Embry bid 584c/kg for a duo of 220kg Murray Grey heifers from R & R Pastoral to cost $1285, while Mr Brown included in his several purchases eight Murray Grey cross heifers weighing 284kg from Object Star Consultants costing $1650.

The fixture swung to dairy origin cattle with Molita Grove Grazing Pty Ltd's three pens of well-grown 22mo Angus-Friesian first cross steers selling to Mr Jones for processing with two pens of five steers making the section's $2408 top price, 344c/kg at 700kg and 346c/kg at 696kg.

Mr Pollock snapped up the two pens of Angus-Friesian steers from Woodland Cattle Co paying to $2342 at 390c/kg for eight steers averaging 601kg.

Mr Embry secured the final five pens of first cross steers for a grazier client bidding to the 534c/kg top liveweight price for seven Angus-Friesian cross offered by MA Baruffi to cost $1583.

A plentiful run of Friesian steers featuring a number of big drafts from individual vendors were sought after.

Mr Pollock claimed four of the five pens offered by Worthington Family Trust paying the section's $2384 top price for seven averaging 605kg at 394c/kg.

Mr Abbs collected several pens and paid to $2342 for seven Friesian steers weighing 604kg from P Sevelj at 388c/kg and six averaging 616kg offered by FG & R Cavallo costing $2340 at 380c/kg.

A big draft of Friesian steers offered by M & AJ Bell topped at $2104 for eight steers weighing 516kg snapped up by Greycliffe Farm for 408c/kg, while Mr Embry filled a grazier order including six pens of the Bell's steers in his selections.

Regular vendors NL & E Haddon's draft of steers sold to $2034 for their first pen offered containing seven steers weighing 499kg, knocked down to Mr Pollock for 408c/kg.

Another regular vendor Gundagai Dairy's sale draft achieved the sale's top liveweight price honours with 14 weighing 181kg among several lighter pens secured by Nutrien Livestock Brunswick/Harvey agent Errol Gardiner at 775c/kg and $1406.

The selling team rounded the final bend onto the strong numbers of breeding females presented.

G & PA Angi offered two pens of vendor guaranteed 10-12mo first cross Murray Grey (3) and Angus (9) heifers which were both secured by K & M Taylor for $1550.

SR Latch's two pens of PTIC Angus heifers due to calve to an Angus bull from April 1 to May 17 sold strongly to $3950 paid by Mr Embry for a draft of seven.

Due to a loss of lease, the genuine dispersal of Red Angus cows from GL & RK Dickson was a sale highlight and sold accordingly.

The outstanding even draft of fifth to seventh calving cows were PTIC to an Angus bull due to calve from March 15 for nine weeks with Gavin Watt, GJ & J Watt, Treeton, snapping up all 37 cows paying from $3400 to $3700.

Mr Watt later added a further seven mixed aged Red Angus cows PTIC to Angus bull due March-April from DG & A Pellow for $3800.

But it was five third calving Angus cows PTIC to an Blackrock Angus bull due to calve from March 12 for 12 weeks offered by JA & TP Patane that topped the breeder section at $4400 paid by Mr Embry.

Cow and calf prices peaked at $4200 paid by Leno Vigolo, Nutrien Livestock, Central Midlands and Wheatbelt, for a duo of first calving Angus cows and calves PTIC to a Monterey Murray Grey bull due to calve June-July while a big line of 12 first cross Angus-Friesian second calving cows and Angus calves at foot that weren't rejoined.

NUTRIEN Livestock auctioneer and Capel agent Chris Waddingham said it was a quality yarding of cattle which sold to another buoyant Boyanup market.

"The cattle presented very well and the strong market continued across all classes as it has for most of the summer," Mr Waddingham said.

"The reasonable numbers of mated females was a feature and attracted a strong gallery of buyers including producers not regularly seen at the saleyards who were interested in the breeders.

"These sold strongly in line with recent breeder sales over the past month."

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