DESPITE restricted attendance, the Nutrien Livestock team notched up a successful result at its March store cattle sale at the Muchea Livestock Centre (MLC) last week.
MLC's COVID-19 protocols limiting people attending the saleyards to buyers and agents only and a yarding of mostly well-weaned cattle combined for an eerily quiet atmosphere at the sale.
However the small crowd of buyers, agents and a commission buyer armed with several decent orders joined strong interest on AuctionsPlus to provide competition and hold the market firm on the previous sale for local cattle while the pastoral section was generally softer with condition and quality varied.
The Nutrien Livestock team yarded 1227 local and pastoral cattle, with an excellent line-up of local beef cattle dominating descriptions again this month, while pastoral descriptions were more mixed in quality with some cattle reflecting a tough season.
Local beef steers averaged $1792 and topped at 730c/kg for light Angus steers with feeders paying to $2481, while beef heifers averaged $1646 and sold to 602c/kg to restockers and $2190 to feeders.
Droughtmaster PTIC pastoral heifers topped at $2043 and 540c/kg to average $1701, while unjoined pastoral heifers topped at 640c/kg and $1841 to average $1262.
Pastoral steers sold to 624c/kg and $1852 to average $1160.
The dominant numbers of local beef steers kicked off proceedings with a decent line of 19 Angus steers tipping the scales at 435kg, offered by Clarke Investments Pty Ltd, taking sale top-price honours when Graham Brown paid $2481 at 570c/kg on behalf of a South Australian feedlot.
Jamie Davies, Kalgrains, Wannamal, snapped up the first five pens of steers but it wasn't until later in the run he paid the sale's next highest price of $2455 for the following pen of Clarke Investment Angus steers weighing 404kg with a 608c/kg bid.
This was one of many steer pens heading to the Kalgrains feedlot.
Mr Brown was kept busy throughout the sale purchasing local steers for an export, southern feeder and Wheatbelt backgrounder/feeder orders, paying to $2033 at 626c/kg for the opening pen of 10 Murray Grey steers weighing 325kg from the draft of VR & JL Shallcross.
A northern feeder operating on AuctionsPlus was another prominent buyer through the local beef section of the sale with their steer selections reaching $2230 for 11 Angus 356kg steers, again from the Clark Investment draft.
The sale's volume vendor in the local beef line-up Mt Gerizim Farm Pty Ltd, Dandaragan, presented a quality draft of 185 Angus steers weighing from 213-301kg and topped the sale's liveweight values with their lightest pen of 18 knocked down to Nutrien Livestock pastoral agent Daniel Wood for 730c/kg to cost $1555.
Mr Brown collected six of the Mt Gerizim steer pens for his various orders, paying to 654c/kg for 23 weighing 232kg.
A run of light Angus steers from the local paddocks of JA Lee finished the section with Mr Brown bidding the next highest price of 670c/kg for 20 steers averaging 229kg.
Clark Investments was also added to the honour board in the beef heifers with a pen of its PTE Angus heifers making top dollar.
A larger heifer was optioned out of a female pen of four with the 470kg female returning the sale's $2190 top price at 470kg, while the balance averaging 405kg was knocked down for $2187 and 540c/kg with all four heading to South Australia through Mr Brown's bidding.
Mr Brown also paid $2164 at 464c/kg for the section's first pen of nine Angus heifers weighing 466kg offered by Gratte & Rogers and added a few pens of lighter heifers to his purchases for a New South Wales feeder.
The online feeder buyer sourced pens of heifers paying to $2050 and 590c/kg for Clark Investment Angus heifers.
Serenity Stud bid the section's 602c/kg top liveweight price for nine Murray Grey heifers weighing 313kg from the Shallcross draft.
Nutrien Livestock pastoral agent Roger Leeds grabbed a few pens of lighter beef heifers for a Toodyay order, bidding to 590c/kg for 12 Murray Grey heifers weighing 305kg offered by Wheller Plains Pastoral to cost $1798.
The sale then shifted to the line-up of pastoral cattle with Tierney Investments, Dongara, taking price honours in both categories in the steer section with a well-bred draft of deep red Santa Gertrudis steers.
Their pen of nine steers averaging 298kg was knocked down to Mr Leeds for his Toodyay order for the top price of $1852 at 622c/kg, while Allen Bentham, Delaney Livestock Services, collected two pens of their steers paying to the top liveweight price of 624c/kg for eight steers weighing 245kg.
Leno Vigolo, Nutrien Livestock, Central Midlands and Wheatbelt, secured three pens of Shorthorn steers from GJ Findlay, paying to $1696 at 430c/kg for five averaging 394kg.
Mr Brown snapped up the final five pens of light pastoral steers for his New South Wales order.
Regular pastoral vendor Hamersley station presented a quality draft of PTIC Droughtmaster heifers and mouthed PTE heifers at the sale from its Paraburdoo property.
The draft's joined heifer values topped at $2043 for 14 heifers in their third trimester averaging 401kg, which were knocked down to Mr Vigolo for 510c/kg.
He then paid the 540c/kg top liveweight price for the following pen of 10 heifers, also in their third trimester weighing 370kg to cost $1999.
Mr Bentham secured five consecutive pens of Hamersley joined heifers for a restocker client.
Hamersley station's large opening line of Droughtmaster heifers to commence the unjoined pastoral heifer section topped the prices at $1842 for 26 milk to two-teeth heifers weighing 332kg which were knocked down to Alex Roberts, Elders Boyanup, for 555c/kg.
Mr Roberts went on to collect a further four pens of the Hamersley unjoined heifers aged from milk to fourth-teeth.
Tierney Investments Santa Gertrudis heifers also returned top liveweight price honours, with Mr Vigolo bidding 640c/kg for six even 280kg deep red heifers to cost $1792.
Mr Vigolo went on to collect a further four pens of unjoined Droughtmaster and Brahman cross heifers from the Findlay draft.
Mr Brown added five pens of young light pastoral heifers for the NSW order, four coming from the Platinum Pastoral draft out of Meekatharra.
The sale finished with a selection of local and pastoral bulls.
Rob Gibbings, Elders Capel, cleaned out the entire local bull section for two South West orders paying to $1610 at 350c/kg for a single 460kg Angus bull offered by Clark Investments Pty Ltd and to 540c/kg liveweight for a trio of Angus bulls averaging 249kg from the Mt Gerizim Farms draft to cost $1343.
Mr Brown dominated the pastoral bull section for his export and NSW orders, paying to $1466 at 520c/kg for two Santa Gertrudis bulls averaging 282kg from the Tierney Investments draft for export and to 555c/kg for five pens of light Droughtmaster cross bulls from the Platinum Pastoral consignment heading to NSW.
Collins Livestock paid the section's 600c/kg liveweight price for 14 young light Droughtmaster cross bulls also from Platinum Pastoral.
WHAT THE AGENT SAID
NUTRIEN Livestock sale co-ordinator and level one AuctionsPlus assessor Simon Green said overall it was another successful result for Nutrien Livestock at Muchea.
"We yarded 1227 local and pastoral cattle which was down on last month's big yarding," Mr Green said.
"There were 504 local steers that topped at 730c/kg for Mt Gerizim Angus steers and 245 local heifers which sold to 602c/kg for Shallcross Murray Greys.
"Some nice pastoral Santa steers from Tierney Investments topped at 624c/kg in the 96 pastoral steers offered, 88 PTIC Droughtmaster heifers from Hamersley Station sold to 540c/kg and $2043 and 193 pastoral heifers topped at 640c/kg for young Santa heifers from Tierney Investments.
"The 103 local and pastoral bulls penned sold to 600c/kg for some light bulls from Platinum Livestock.
"We look forward to receiving nominations for Nutrien Livestock's next store cattle sale at Muchea on Friday, April 22."
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