NUTRIEN Livestock held the second instalment of its winter store cattle sales at the Muchea Livestock Centre last Friday.
Cattle numbers yarded for the July sale were slightly down in comparison to the company's store sale at the venue last month and while it was mixed, it was generally a good quality yarding given the time of the year.
Like other recent store cattle markets, buying support from feeders and graziers was subdued on the back of well publicised issues currently impacting the beef industry and combined with a greater percentage of pastoral origin/breed cattle, resulted in an easier market.
This was reflected in the overall sale average of $1016 which was back $447 compared to the company's June sale at Muchea which averaged $1463 for 952 head of cattle.
A smaller yarding of yearling beef steers and heifers topped at $2024 for a 506 kilogram Murray Grey steer and 530c/kg for well-bred feeder weight steers, while heifer values reached $1673 and 488c/kg for well-bred types potentially heading for breeding duties.
Pastoral origin/breed yearling steers and heifers with a strong Euro breed influence reached a high of $1417 and 466c/kg for steers and $1098 and 372c/kg for heifers, while a larger representation of bulls sold to $1047 and 438c/kg for backgrounding weight local weaner bulls and $1091 and 430c/kg for lightweight well-bred Droughtmaster weaner bulls.
Leno Vigolo, Nutrien Livestock, Central Midlands and Wheatbelt, was among the sale's more prominent buyers, representing several orders but the bulk of his purchases heading north for a Three Springs client.
Mr Vigolo kicked off the sale opening run of beef steers paying $1938 at 450c/kg for the first pen of three Angus steers weighing 431kg from JW Hartree & FA Hartree-Simpson, Gingin.
He included the sale's $2024 top-price (400c/kg) paid for an individual Murray Grey steer tipping the scales at 506kg from Mostert Dairy, Keysbrook, followed by another two pens from Mosterts Dairy costing $1772 at 426c/kg for four mixed steers weighing 416kg and $1720 at 450c/kg for eight Simmental cross steers averaging 382kg.
Lotfeeder Jamie Davies, Kalgrains, Wannamal, was the dominant buyer in the local steer section securing a total of 12 pens.
Mr Davies' haul topped at $1854 for a trio of Blonde d'Aquitaine steers weighing 401kg from M & L Furfaro, Keysbrook, to cost 462c/kg, while his next highest price of $1837 at 518c/kg was paid for six mixed steers averaging 355kg trucked in by RJ Read, Gingin.
Chris Dunlop, Nutrien Livestock, Boyanup, bought a pen of eight 325kg Red Angus steers from Howatharra Grazing Co, Howatharra, paying the sale's 530c/kg top liveweight price to cost $1724.
Mr Davies continued his strong buying into the pastoral origin/breed steers and while a couple of pens of Charolais cross steers from Mount Florance station, Tom Price, will enter the Kalgrains feedlot, he managed to secure seven of the eight pens totalling 123 Droughtmaster steers from the Gordon Cattle Co consignment on behalf of a local Muchea grazier.
The significant order included the section's $1417 top price paid for a pen of 17 steers averaging 315kg with a 450c/kg bid.
Harvey Beef cattle buyer Jono Green earlier sourced three pens of feeder weight local steers before bidding the pastoral steer section's 466c/kg top liveweight value for 10 Mount Florance station Charolais cross steers weighing 302kg to cost $1405.
Nutrien Livestock, Mid West and pastoral agent, Richard Keach rounded out the pastoral steer section with four pens of lightweight Droughtmaster cross steers on behalf of a Walkaway grazier paying to $944 and 354c/kg.
The sale swung to the yarding of beef heifers with a Quindanning grazier securing the top-priced pen at $1673 (450c/kg) for six Angus heifers weighing 372kg offered by RA Adams, Ravenswood, through the bidding of Clint Fletcher, Elders Moora.
They also snapped up the following pen of 15 Angus heifers averaging 298kg from Leasha Farms, Mingenew, for the section's 488c/kg top liveweight price to cost $1453.
Frequent grazier buyer Maverick DeBurgh, Bullsbrook, paid the next highest price of $1482 at 402c/kg for a trio of Blonde d'Aquitaine heifers offered by the Furaros.
Mr Vigolo was back at it in the local heifer selection and went on to purchase six pens for various accounts, paying to $1405 at 380c/kg for six Simmental cross heifers weighing 370kg, offered by regular vendors Mosterts Dairy Pty Ltd, while Mr Dunlop added six Howatharra Grazing Red Angus heifers weighing 326kg to his order costing $1442 and 442c/kg.
Mount Florance station dominated the pastoral origin/breed heifer section of the sale with a total draft of 210 Charolais cross heifers.
Mr Vigolo stepped it up a notch to finish with 11 pens of pastoral heifers for various clients, eight of which are heading to Three Springs.
Included in his selections were eight pens from the Mount Florance consignment which recorded both the section's top prices at $1098 (336c/kg) for 17 heifers weighing 327kg and 372c/kg top liveweight price for 10 averaging 222kg to cost $827.
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Kingston Rest Pty Ltd, Stratham, sourced seven pens of Mount Florance heifers at weights from 236-305kg, paying to $944 at 334c/kg for a line of 13 weighing 283kg, while Mr Keach added five pens of lighter heifers to his Walkaway account.
The sale finished with a stronger yarding of bulls which were mainly pastoral origin/breed types.
Mr Davies snapped up the first three pens of local Murray Grey bulls from GN & TJ Williamson, Badgingarra, for Kalgrains paying to $1034 at 340c/kg for two bulls weighing 304kg and the local bull section's 438c/kg top liveweight price for three bulls averaging 217kg to cost $949.
Kingstons Rest also bought the top-priced bull pen in the local division, paying $1047 at 380c/kg for five Angus cross bulls weighing 276kg offered by JS & GL Laurisson, Badgingarra.
The Laurissons also topped the pastoral origin/breed bull section for both price indicators with their draft of Droughtmaster bulls.
The opening pen of 12 bulls averaging 262kg were knocked down to Graham Brown, representing an export feeder buyer, for $1091 and 416c/kg, one of five pens he secured.
Mr Davies, Kalgrains, sourced two pens of the Laurisson's bulls and bid the 430c/kg top liveweight price for eight weighing 222kg to cost $956.
The balance of the bull lineup comprising 131 mainly Droughtmaster and Droughtmaster cross lightweight bull weaners was offered by C Brierly, Indee station, Port Hedland.
Nutrien Livestock sale co-ordinator Simon Green filled a significant Harvey grazier order with seven pens of bulls (including six from Indee station), while Power Feedlot, Narngulu, sourced five pens of Indee station bulls.
