An abated store cattle market presented buyers with an opportunity to source quality cattle at value for money at the Nutrien Livestock July store cattle sale at the Muchea Livestock Centre last Friday.
The modest buying gallery of feeders, graziers and agents were joined by increased export enquiry and took advantage of the current static store cattle market to stock up.
The sale was also interfaced on AuctionsPlus, with more than 565 catalogue views seeing 23 registered buyers and 23 viewers logged into the sale from Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.
This resulted in three active online bidders placing 118 bids across 16 pens, with five pens selling to WA feeder and graziers buyers.
The Nutrien Livestock team yarded slightly more than 1000 head of good quality local and pastoral store cattle.
Local cattle values were subdued, with a small yarding of steers topping at $1388 and 336 cents a kilogram, while a larger yarding of largely lighter beef heifers took one of the largest hits, reaching $1003 and 282c/kg with weight a decisive factor.
An improved line-up of pastoral cattle, albeit largely in store condition, showed the depth of breeding coming out of the northern pastoral regions.
Pastoral steers reached 294c/kg and $1079 for quality mediumweight Droughtmaster cross steers from the Pilbara, while pastoral heifers found the going tougher - reaching 232c/kg for lightweight, strong Angus content cattle out of the Gascoyne and $650 for mediumweight Shorthorn cross heifers from the Pilbara.
Auctioneer Brad Keevers got the fixture underway on a short run of local beef steers, with the sale's overall top price clerked into the books from the outset with the first pen of five Angus yearling steers weighing 496kg offered by Mostert Holdings, Keysbrook, knocked down to the 280c/kg bid of Damian Barsby, Harvey Beef, to cost $1388.
Mr Barsby also snapped up the next pen of three Mostert Holding steers weighing 403kg for $1127 at 280c/kg.
Howatharra Grazing, Howatharra, presented a quality team of Red Angus steers and heifers at the sale with prominent buyer across several accounts Jamie Davies, Kalgrains, Wannamal, paying the sale's 336c/kg top liveweight price for eight steers averaging 307kg to cost $1032.
Mr Davies collected 11 pens of local steers in total, including the next highest liveweight value of 314c/kg for four Murray Grey cross steers weighing 289kg offered by RI & KM Hamilton, Moora, costing $906.
Nutrien Livestock pastoral agent Shane Flemming secured four pens totalling 21 lighter Murray Grey steers from EJ & JA McClintock, Kalbarri, bidding to 300c/kg, while the large draft of lighter Red Angus cross steers from Georgina Farms, Walkaway, sold to 268c/kg paid by Mr Davies, who collected six pens for Kalgrains and a grazier order.
Next it was onto the pastoral origin steers with Bonney Downs station, Marble Bar, taking out the section's top price double with their large quality draft of mouthed Droughtmaster cross milk tooth steers, with six averaging 367kg knocked down to Leno Vigolo, Nutrien Livestock, Central Midlands and Wheatbelt, for $1079 and 294c/kg for a Central Wheatbelt client.
Mr Vigolo also paid $1070 at 290c/kg for the previous pen of seven Bonney Downs steers averaging 369kg for the same account.
Mr Davies added six pens of the Bonney Downs steers paying to 282c/kg and $937 and five pens of Angus-Droughtmaster cross steers from regular vendor Haseley Stud, Wandagee and Boolathana stations, Carnarvon, bidding to 288c/kg and $963 for eight milk tooth steers averaging 335kg.
Mr Barsby also secured a handful of pens of mediumweight Bonney Downs and Haseley Stud steers paying to $950 and 288c/kg.
The Mostert family also headed the large numbers of local beef heifers with the first pen of six Murray Grey cross yearling heifers averaging 401kg, purchased by Mr Vigolo for his Wheatbelt order for $1003 at 250c/kg.
He also added 13 Red Angus heifers weighing 347kg from Howatharra Grazing for $901 and 260c/kg.
Five Angus heifers weighing 335kg, also from Howatharra Grazing, were knocked down to Mr Davies for $944 and the section's 282c/kg top liveweight value.
Graziers, the Milner family, added valuable competition on lighter beef heifers, finishing the sale with nine pens to their name bidding to 272c/kg for six Angus heifers averaging 243kg offered by Walton Family Trust, Wanerie.
Merredin graziers the Hardy family, Stockdale Farms, sourced three consecutive pens totaling 60 Red Angus cross heifers from the Georgina Farms draft bidding to 262c/kg for a line of 35 averaging 234kg.
Not reflective of quality, pastoral heifer values reached $650 for a pen of six weighing 325kg from the large draft of quality Droughtmaster and Shorthorn cross heifers from Ethel Creek station, Newman, with Livestock Shipping Services (LSS) bidding 200c/kg.
This was one of 10 pens of Ethel Creek station heifers purchased by LSS.
Mr Vigolo sourced three of the seven pens of milk tooth Angus-Droughtmaster heifers from Haseley Stud, bidding to the section's 232c/kg top liveweight price twice for 12 averaging 241kg and six weighing 250kg, while Mr Davies secured the balance for a grazier order.
Strelley Pastoral Company, Port Hedland, offered eight pens of Brahman and Shorthorn cross bulls which sold equally to LSS and Mr Davies representing an export order.
He paid the section's top price of 218c/kg and $592 for seven Shorthorn cross bulls averaging 272kg.
Concluding the sale, two lines of mature Hereford cows with young Hereford calves at foot, offered by PA & TS Husbands, Northampton, sold to $1220 with the winning bid from Allen Bentham, WA Livestock Agency.
WHAT THE AGENT SAID
NUTRIEN Livestock auctioneer and Dandaragan agent Brad Keevers said due to the lack of feed, lightweight cattle less than 300kg were challenging to sell and modest feedlot interest saw values for feeder type cattle back 30-40c/kg.
"There weren't a lot of local steers yarded and with pastoral steers were both 30-40c/kg down overall on the previous month's sale," Mr Keevers said.
"Better type local beef steers and heifers sold OK given the market but were still down 20-30c/kg.
"Local heifers in the main were lighter this month and were down every bit of 40c/kg with astute graziers picking up good value cattle.
"LSS were filling a boat for lightweight pastoral steers and heifers and came into the market on these with limited competition.
"Inferior types were very cheap again."
