Prices were up at the Elders beef store cattle sale at the Boyanup saleyards last Wednesday.
The Elders South West team penned a quality line-up of beef cattle in the company's second April store sale, following the dairy origin store sale the week prior.
The impressive offering consisted of just more than 1300 beef steers and heifers, which attracted a crowd that bid confidently throughout the quality lines, resulting in prices lifting in comparison to last month's sale.
Steers lifted $300 and heifers $250 per head more than last month's top prices.
SALE SUMMARY
- Beef steers: 150-318c/kg ($308-$1543)
- Beef heifers: 100-270c/kg ($193-$1366)
Better quality cattle lines had no trouble finding new homes, filling buyers orders and requirements easily.
The line-up of beef steers, which ranged in weights from 205 kilograms and 580kg, sold to 318c/kg and $1543, while beef heifers weighing from 175kg and 506kg, realised to 270c/kg and $1366.
Beef steers kicked off the sale, which recorded the highest priced pen at $1543.
It contained one Murray Grey steer, weighing 580kg from Avenlea Grazing, Roelands, which sold at
266c/kg to Kookabrook Livestock Trust, Dardanup.
Kookabrook Livestock Trust also picked up two higher-priced pens from BFT Hire, Capel, for $1385 and $1419 at 300c/kg each, for pens of three Murray Grey steers weighing 462kg and eight Angus averaging 473kg, respectively.
Other notable pens purchased by the Dardanup account were seven Simmental steers weighing 465kg from SJ & RM Lees, Boyup Brook, for $1330 at 286c/kg and another five Simmental steers weighing 462kg from GC & CA Brown, Nannup, for $1321 also at 286c/kg.
They also paid $1305 and 292c/kg for five Simmental cross steers from RT & SB Booth, Donnybrook, which weighed 447kg.
The highest cents per kilo price was recorded for 11 Angus steers weighing 381kg from volume vendors Alcoa Farmlands, Wagerup/Pinjarra, at 318c/kg and $1213 when they were snapped up by Elders Boyanup representative Alex Roberts.
Mr Roberts also secured three additional quality pens of Murray Grey steers from Alcoa Farmlands, firstly paying $1134 for 10 weighing 364kg at 312c/kg, followed by a pen of nine weighing 373kg at 306c/kg and $1140 and 10 for $1123 at 308c/kg, averaging 365kg.
Jamie Davies, Kalgrains, Wannamal, was also a fan of the Alcoa Farmland steers, picking up plenty of Angus pens, topping at $1159 and 312c/kg for 11 head weighing 371kg.
Included in Kalgrains purchases from Alcoa Farmlands were 12 head averaging 371kg for $1157 and 312c/kg, as well as 11 weighing 367kg at 312c/kg and $1143 and another 12 head also at 312c/kg and $1141, averaging 366kg.
Graham Brown also picked up some quality pens for Princess Royal, South Australia, with Alcoa Farmlands pens also filling a portion of its order.
Two quality pens of 11 and 12 Angus steers were picked up by Mr Brown, weighing 371kg and 381kg for $1159 at 312c/kg and $1050 at 306c/kg respectively.
Harvey-based vendors JP & LJ Andony achieved a high price of $1310 for their pen of 19 Angus steers weighing 420kg, snapped up by Princess Royal at 312c/kg.
Included in Princess Royal's order were 10 Angus cross steers weighing 394kg from Stuart McFerran, Osmington, for 300c/kg and $1181 and eight Angus steers for $1190 and 306c/kg from L & V Fitzpatrick, Waroona, which weighed 389kg.
Kookabrook Livestock Trust also dominated the opening heifer pens, paying top per head price and highest cents per kilogram price of $1366 and 270c/kg
for a single Murray Grey heifer weighing 506kg from the Pyburne Family Trust, Harvey.
The second heifer pen of the day, made up of 11 Murray Greys weighing 451kg from the Pyburne Family Trust was also picked up by Kookabrook Livestock Trust for 269c/kg and $1208.
Two additional pens were bought by Kookabrook Livestock Trust at 248c/kg
and $1053 for nine Simmental heifers weighing 424kg from GC & CA Brown and 10 Murray Grey heifers weighing 434kg for 232c/kg and $1007 from RE & LM Clarke, Roelands.
SR & BT Brown, Harvey, took a liking to two Limousin pens from Kelside West, Brunswick, paying $1033 and 270c/kg for six heifers weighing 383kg and 15 weighing 312kg at 240c/kg and $748.
Graham Brown was also a prominent buyer in the heifer offering, purchasing a large number of pens for a client.
He paid a high of $687 for an Angus heifer weighing 362kg at 190c/kg from KM Sanders & TL Kilner, Kojonup, as well as a pen of three Charolais heifers from JM Milton, Balingup, at 200c/kg and $643.
A large portion of this account's purchases were heifer lines from Alcoa Farmlands in which the highest price paid was $618 and 208c/kg for 13 Angus heifers weighing 297kg.
Mr Brown also purchased multiple pens for a Donnybrook-based client, which finished with 13 pens of beef heifers to add to their herd, which topped at $927 and 232c/kg for nine Simmental heifers from GC & CA Brown, weighing 399kg.
WHAT THE AGENT SAID
Elders auctioneer and Donnybrook representative Pearce Watling said it was a good, well presented yarding of beef cattle.
"There were a few new players in the market for the heavier beef steers which saw stronger competition this month, along with feedlot competition on feeder cattle as well," Mr Watling said.
"It was good to see prices up on the steers.
"The heavier heifers were up 30-40c/kg along with feeder heifers which was good to see and the lightweight cattle, due to an export order, sold a lot stronger as well.
"In saying that, there are still some tremendous opportunities to purchase cattle."
