Nutrien Livestock offers 2000 cattle at Muchea Livestock Centre

Just shy of 2000 head of local and pastoral store cattle were yarded by the Nutrien Livestock network.

The mixed quality yarding of 1963 head of local and pastoral origin/breed cattle was a significant jump in numbers compared to the previous month's fixture where 1452 head was penned.

The sale was well represented by agents, along with lotfeeeder accounts, graziers, exporters and processors, although buying support was generally a bit quieter from each buying sector than recent sales.

It was interfaced on AuctionsPlus with 65 registered bidders logged in from WA, New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania, yielding 128 online bids with 19 lots selling to South Australia.

It notched up an overall average of $1274 which was back $192 on last month's sale average of $1466 and possibly reflected the greater variance in quality for this sale.

Heavy local yearling cattle 440 kilograms plus, continued their softening trend of recent sales selling to 440 cents per kilogram, while light to mediumweight weaner steers were in demand topping at 592c/kg.

Forward condition local heifers 320kg topped at 562c/kg and local bulls sold to export and graziers to 478c/kg and $1487.

The wide price ranges in pastoral cattle descriptions showed the wider variance in quality with better quality selling well but inferior types heavily discounted.

Better pastoral steers 430kg sold to $1800 and well-bred light types to 455c/kg, while well-bred pastoral heifers for future breeding sold to $1555 and 468c/kg, while limited pastoral bulls attracted grazier and export interest selling to $1407 and 460c/kg.

The sale kicked off with a few pens of yearling steers with Damian Barsby, Harvey Beef, paying the top dollar with one bid at 400c/kg claiming eight 520kg Angus cross steers from Clarke Investments Pty Ltd to cost $2081, one of three pens purchased from this vendor including the second line of 11 of the same breeding averaging 472kg at 432c/kg and the second highest price of $2037.

Harvey Beef dominated the yearling steers to finish with nine pens paying from 462c/kg and $1725 for weights upwards from 373kg.

Among Jamie Davies', Kalgrains, Wannamal, purchases was a pen of 429kg Angus cross yearling steers also from Clarke Investments costing 454c/kg and $1974.

Mr Davies weaner steer values reached $1916 at 490c/kg for nine Limousin steers weighing 391kg, one of two pens purchased from AJ Hare & DJ Walker's offering.

Graham Nixon, Nixon Bros, New Norcia, operated strongly on the well-bred medium to heavier weight steers, including a pen of 15 Angus weighing 405kg offered by BJ & C Tampalini which cost $1888 at 466c/kg.

The Nixons younger weaner steer purchases topped at $1912 at 558c/kg for six Angus averaging 343kg from the paddocks of Innaminka Farms.

Armed with a significant live export order, Graham Brown was active on the local steers amassing 17 pens of Angus and Murray Grey steers ranging from 265-338kg at strong liveweight values with his $1821 top price at 574c/kg outlaid for six Angus cross steers weighing 317kg, one of four pens of steers he selected from the TP & EZ Coole draft.

PL & JK Wade snapped up two pens of Angus cross steers from Emdavale Farms, paying to the 592c/kg top liveweight price for 16 steers averaging 267kg to cost $1583.

Harvey Beef paid to 574ckg liveweight for seven Angus steers weighing 300kg from PR & PM Fletcher to cost $1720.

Local beef heifers prices peaked at $1793 at the section's 562c/kg top liveweight value for a quality draft of eight Limousin heifers from the Hare & Walker draft knocked down to Michael Princi, M & M Princi Butchers, North Perth.

Harvey Beef paid the next highest price of $1625 at 380c/kg for seven grey Murray Grey heifers averaging 428kg from Vispo Holdings Pty Ltd.

A pen of 11 even, deep red Red Angus heifers weighing 386kg from Beermullah Beef was knocked down to Nutrien Livestock agent Daniel Wood representing an eastern Wheatbelt feeder for $1621 at 420c/kg.

Mr Davies collected seven PTE Angus heifers averaging 394kg from the Clarke Investments draft for $1575 and 400c/kg, while Leno Vigolo, Nutrien Livestock, Central Midlands and Wheatbelt, paid $1549 at the next highest price of 500c/kg for 12 Emdavale Farms Angus cross heifers weighing 310kg on behalf of a Central Midlands account.

An online buyer from Port Augusta, South Australia, collected 12 pens of light local heifers, bidding to 484c/kg for five Clarke Investments heifers weighing 245kg.

Clarke Investments offered most of the local bulls with seven Angus cross bulls weighing 425kg selling for the top price of $1487 at 350c/kg to Graham Brown for a grazier order.

Mr Brown collected all bar one of the local bull pens for three orders but Mr Vigolo bid the 478c/kg top liveweight price for seven light Angus bulls averaging 210kg on behalf of a backgrounder.

The Glenn family, Ashburton Downs station, Paraburdoo, returned with another large quality draft of mainly milk tooth baldy Braford yearling steers and heifers to be the sale's volume vendor.

A line of their five steers averaging 437kg sold for the $1800 top price at 412c/kg to Mr Davies.

Mr Wood snared seven pens of Ashburton steers for his feeder order, paying to $1624 for 11 milk tooth steers averaging 376kg bidding 432c/kg.

Sale summary

Nutrien Livestock pastoral agent Shane Flemming was among the most prominent buyers in the pastoral section with 23 pens of steers knocked down to his order at good buying to 432c/kg.

A single pen of seven red Brangus steers weighing 490kg from Diamond Tree Stud opened the section with Harvey Beef paying $1765 at 360c/kg.

A draft of Droughtmaster and Droughtmaster cross weaner steer calves offered by Murgoo station, Murchison, topped liveweight values with Mr Vigolo bidding to 455c/kg for nine averaging 227kg to cost $1033.

An excellent even draft of honey coated Droughtmaster cross yearling heifers offered by JS & GL Laurisson topped both price parameters in the pastoral heifer line-up with Alan Browning, Elders, taking the two top drafts totalling 37 heifers paying to 468c/kg and $1555 for 15 heifers averaging 332kg.

The heifers were purchased as breeders for a Mt Magnet buyer.

Ashburton Downs' large draft of milk-tooth Braford yearling heifers topped at $1202 with Mr Vigolo bidding 352c/kg for 10 weighing 342kg, one of four pens of Ashburton heifers for a Three Springs order.

Mr Flemming snapped up nine pens of Ashburton weaner heifers, bidding their top liveweight price of 360c/kg for 17 averaging 201kg.

READ MORE:

Seven Oaks Livestock presented a single draft of six Droughtmaster cross weaner heifers averaging 259kg which was knocked down to the SA buyer on AuctionsPlus for 426c/kg.

The Laurissons' cattle featured in the top prices for pastoral bulls with eight Droughtmasters weighing 335kg knocked down to Mr Brown for $1407 and 420c/kg, one of six pens of pastoral bulls penned to his live export order.

This account included the section's 460c/kg top liveweight value paid for five Droughtmaster cross bulls averaging 246kg from the Seven Oaks Livestock consignment.

What the agent said:

NUTRIEN Livestock auctioneer and Dandaragan agent Brad Keevers said it was another big yarding of local and pastoral cattle that sold in a quality driven market.

"Heavy local beef steers were back by up to 30c/kg on recent sales," Mr Keevers said.

"The good run of young steers 250-380kg were well supported and were 10-20c/kg better on recent sales and local heifers sold pretty well to be equal to recent sales.

"Pastoral steers were lesser in quality than previous store sales and more difficult to sell to be well down by 20-40c/kg.

"Generally the quality of the pastoral heifers was below previous store sales and prices reflected this, however better lines were fully equal and sold to keen demand.

"Bull numbers were down on what we've normally had and were a bit easier on recent values with a main exporter not operating."