Quality cattle largely sold firm on recent values at the Elders store cattle sale at Boyanup last Friday.
The Elders South West team yarded just more than 1300 head of beef and dairy-origin cattle in their monthly store fixture, drawing plenty of praise from the large crowd in attendance.
Numerous lotfeeders were active in the market on suited weight beef steers, while recent rains - albeit patchy - fuelled interest from fortunate South West graziers and restockers on light and medium-weight beef and dairy types and breeder cattle.
Beef yearling steers 400kg-plus topped at 248c/kg to feeders and a small selection of yearling beef heifers sold to 172kg on weight.
A large yarding of weaned and unweaned new season steers sold to 270kg to graziers and 268c/kg to feeders for 340kg plus cattle, while heifers topped at 186c/kg to feeders for similar weights.
Heavier first cross steers 500kg plus sold to graziers to 180c/kg, while heavy Friesian steers 690kg sold to graziers for a quick turnaround to 152c/kg and 490kg steers topped at 164c/kg to graziers.
Appraisal first cross steers topped at $760 and Friesians $600 for the older end and $320 for poddies.
A quality line-up of breeders realised $1625 for PTIC heifers and sold to $1730 for joined cows.
The sale was interfaced on AuctionsPlus attracting 662 views and 22 registered bidders mainly from WA and also Victoria and New South Wales with an eastern Wheatbelt buyer placing 49 bids across 20 pens and successfully purchasing four of them.
The sale kicked off with a quality run of yearling beef steers, with a line of eight Angus tipping the scales at 488kg from the Capel paddocks of NT Dilkes earning the sale's $1132 top price honours when knocked down to Jono Green, Harvey Beef, for 232c/kg.
Mr Green had earlier paid $1121 at 234c/kg for 10 Angus steers, averaging 479kg from the sale draft of Kandalee Grazing Company, Bridgetown.
Daniel Delaney, Delaney Livestock Services, was the sale's most active buyer across all sections of the sale and started his buying with four pens of yearling steers, paying to $1046 at 218c/kg for a draft of nine Angus steers averaging 480kg consigned by KN & JT Tucker, Capel.
Mark Semini, Semini Enterprises, Cowaramup, collected eight pens of yearling steers bidding to 246c/kg liveweight for six Angus cross steers weighing 409kg offered by MJ Gillespie, Donnybrook and to $1046 per head at 234c/kg for a large line of 18 Angus steers averaging 447kg from DJ & L Klein, Capel.
Matt Camarri, S Camarri & Co, Cundinup, bid the section's 248c/kg top liveweight value for 10 silver Murray Grey steers averaging 425kg from the Tucker's draft.
Next up was the lines of weaned and unweaned new season steers, with values reaching $983 for five weaned SimAngus steers averaging 381kg offered by TR & SJ Kirkpatrick, Thomson Brook, knocked down to the 258c/kg bid from Gordon Atwell, Welldon Beef, Williams.
Mr Atwell collected 11 pens of steers including 12 SimAngus steers weighing 375kg from Camden Hill Grazing, Bridgetown, costing $981 at 262c/kg.
Weaned Angus steers trucked in by Norsca Holdings Pty Ltd, Balingup, recorded the 270c/kg top liveweight price for 12, averaging 347kg snapped up by Alex Tunstill, Elders, Capel, costing his grazier order $936.
He earlier bid 266c/kg for 10 SimAngus steers weighing 316kg from the Camden Hill Grazing draft to cost $841.
Mr Camarri also took a liking to the Norsca weaners, bidding the next highest price of 268c/kg for 11 steers weighing 357kg to cost $957 and also bid 262c/kg for seven weaned SimAngus steers averaging 364kg from Matt Boyle, Greenbushes, costing $953.
Mr Delaney added eight pens of lighter young steers to his account at good values, while Owen McLarty, Caris Park Grazing, Pinjarra, secured six pens of steers bidding to 242c/kg liveweight for four Murray Grey steers averaging 384kg from the Vasse paddocks of NC & LB Paine to cost $929.
A pen of Charolais cross yearling heifers offered by one of the sale's larger vendors - Buckingham Beef, Colli - topped the beef heifer market with a single marked out 570kg heifer knocked down to Elders, Collie, agent Craig Martin representing a Central Wheatbelt order for $980 at 172c/kg.
Mr Martin finished with eight pens of beef heifers for this order, also bidding the section's 186c/kg top liveweight value for 11 weaned SimAngus heifers averaging 358kg offered by Matt Boyle to cost $666.
Heifer weaner values topped at $759 for seven Angus heifers weighing 441kg offered by J & M Damiani, Dardanup, which were snapped up by Leno Vigolo, Nutrien Livestock, at 172c/kg for a northern Wheatbelt grazier.
Mr Delaney continued his buying spree with eight pens of beef heifers, bidding to 180c/kg for eight Charolais cross heifers averaging 342kg from the Buckingham Beef draft.
The selling team turned the corner to start the dairy origin section of the sale, with a short run of first cross steers.
Values topped from the outset with the opening pen of eight Angus-Friesian steers weighing 530kg from G & S Whitburn, Carbunup River, recording the top price double of 180c/kg and $954 paid by Rob Gibbings, Elders, Capel.
MR & JL Piggott, Yoongarillup, presented 30 Simmental-Friesian cross steers drafted into coat colours, with Mr Gibbings claiming three of the four pens paying a $953 top price at 172c/kg for nine black and white steers weighing 554kg.
Paradise Creek Dairies, Waterloo, presented 29 Angus and Hereford-Friesian steers with Mr Gibbs paying the draft's 172c/kg and $802 top price for 13 Hereford cross steers weighing 467kg.
Decent numbers of heavy steers started the Friesian section of the sale with the heaviest first pen of six steers weighing 692kg offered by Dudinalup Pastoral Company, Nannup, claiming top price honours with Ross Wright, VA & MP Wright, Dunsborough, paying $1051 at 152c/kg.
Mr Wright purchased another pen of six Dudinalup Pastoral Company steers weighing 661kg for $991 at 150c/kg, while Mr Martin secured their other two pens paying to 142c/kg and $941 for eight steers weighing 663kg.
Neville Foster, FJ & M Foster & Sons, Cowaramup, sourced six pens of Friesian steers including two large lines from CP & SB Sanderson, Karridale, bidding the section's 164c/kg top liveweight value for 11 averaging 493kg to cost $809.
Mr Delaney secured eight pens of Friesian steers, including four lines weighing from 459-508kg, from Newbrook Investments, Busselton, draft, paying to 144c/kg.
His extensive buying extended to the appraisal cattle with the first two pens of nine young Murray Grey-Friesian steers from J & RE Houlison, Vasse, purchased for the top prices of $760 and $740.
Regular vendors CA Panetta, Harvey, offered four pens of young first cross steers which topped at $600 for five Speckle Park-Friesian steers going to FV Wood.
Mr Delaney opened the young Friesian steer section claiming the first four pens totaling 40 head from Newbrook Investments paying from $570 to the $600 top price twice.
Graeme Payne, Payne Farms, Nillup, snapped up the other two pens of 10 Newbrook Investment youngsters bidding to $565.
M Tosana was another volume buyer with 65 Friesian steers in four pens including two pens totaling 33 head from JP Giumelli & Son, Brunswick and paying to $420 for 16 from Stocksfield Farms, Harvey.
Stocksfield Farms sold 11 young Angus-Friesian heifers to SH Fry & Sons for $420.
The sale finished with a good selection of breeding females starting with seven Angus heifers PTIC to Angus bulls to calve February 25 to May 1, from the herd dispersal of JF Montgomery, Donnybrook, purchased by Mr Vigolo for $1625.
He also secured seven mature cows from the dispersal, due to calve to Angus bulls from March 5 to May 5, for the same order costing $1500 along with two pens of second and third calving SimAngus cows, PTIC to a Bonnydale Black Simmental bull to calve from March 1 to May 15, paying to $1730.
WHAT THE AGENT SAID
Elders auctioneer and Donnybrook representative Pearce Watling said it was a good quality yarding which sold in a 'pretty firm' market.
"There were a lot of buyers present with a bit of confidence returning to the job at the moment," Mr Watling said.
"Seeing good competition on feeder calves with four lotfeeders operating with a preference for weaned calves which were 20-40c/kg stronger than last week's trade sale.
"Heavy Friesian steers were 20-30c/kg stronger and made up to 152c/kg for finished types up to 700kg with a couple of extra buyers in this market after selling some cattle out.
"Appraisal beef cross calves sold quite well with a bit of weight up front and Friesians jumped a little to be dearer than the liveweight Friesian steers per kilo.
"There is a bit of competition around from restockers looking for quality cows and saw second calvers sell to $1730."
