Former Essendon legend ruckman Don McKenzie and with Sue and TB White &Sons principal Leo White forked over $4400 for recently-calved Angus heifers to stock a new property at Springdallah, southwest of Ballarat.
VICTORIA’S CVLX Ballarat saleyards was awash with confidence Friday when restocker heifers – pregnancy test in calf – raced to a record $3750 per head on two occasions, and while November/December calved heifer outfits made to $4400.
These amazing results, which highlighted the centre’s annual feature female sale, emerged from an outstanding quality penning of 1300 joined beef females that and drew a larger than normal following of mainly central and western area buyers all seemingly keen to make purchases.
Buyers from upper and lower areas of Victoria’s northeast also made purchases in a sale interfaced through the Auctions Plus online platform.
Veteran Ballarat stock agent Leo White, TB White and Sons said a number of factors came together to create a perfect outcome.
“In the first instance the quality throughout the yarding was by far the best since the sale was inaugurated” Mr White said.
“The feed situation throughout the entire western area of the state is as abundant as can be remembered, while both prime market prices, especially the returns for slaughter cows, and beef weaner sales have provided buyers with all the ammunition they need to pay these rates.
“There is plenty of confidence in the cattle job at the moments. The sums definitely add up”.
HF Richardson principal, Will Richardson, principal, agreed the results achieved by the market were “very, very good.
”We never seen better. A lot of people came prepared to do business with amounts of up to $3000/head and even better and still went home with no cattle” he said.
Nutrien auctioneer, Xavier Shanahan, quoted top end sales as being $800- $1000 a head improved on the centre’s year-earlier market.
The best sales last year he said made $2500 to $2700 whereas this year the same consignments had made upwards of $2850 to the market top of $3750.
Other well-informed industry inners quoted the market as being “$400/head over the odds” of previous sales held earlier this summer.
Watch Xavier Shanahan post-sale interview with Beef Central:
The market top, of $3750, was shared by regular suppliers the Department of Corrective Service’s Langi Kal Kal Angus and B&S Maher “Golden Grove” Newlyn.
The LKK Angus pen of 10, aged 2.5-years, were AI’d to Murdeduke Kicking on June-2 2020 and then depastured to LKK Angus low birth weight bulls from June-24 to July-27 2020 to commence calving March -12, 2021.
The buyer was Nutrien Warrnambool, a repeat buyer of the LKK Angus heifers on numerous occasions while the Golden Grove line of Carngham Station-bred Angus went Bendigo stock agency firm FP Nevins P/L.
Department of Corrective Services Langi Kal Kal Angus management, Kahn Jantzen, Adam Smith, Evan Zannit, Lewis Baker were thrilled with their best ever PTIC heifer result of $3750.
Also, PTIC to low birthweight LKK Angus bulls, the Golden Grove yard of 30 was depastured June-01 to August-24 to commence calving March-21.
Further yards of the Golden Grove Angus heifers were sold at $3500 for 18 and $3350 for another 18 while a second pen of LKK Angus made $3450 (18) and a third yard, $3000.
A third major vendor, supplying 81 Angus heifers, September/October18-drop, to the market was Brett Stewart, Wimmera Downs, Greens Creek near Stawell.
Celebrating 25 years as a supplier to Ballarat joined females, Brett Stewart, Greens Creek near Stawell sold 81 PTIC Angus heifers from $2850 to a best of $3300.
Comprising Banquet/Toora West bloodlines, the Wimmera Downs Angus heifers were PTIC to Banquet-blood bulls from June-4 to July-30, again to commence calving from mid-March.
Further sales of the Wimmera Downs heifers made $3300 for a yard of 17, $3200 (20), $3100 (17), $3000 (14) and $2850 (13).
Across the entire yarding some 16 lots of PTIC heifers were cleared on bids placed beyond $3000/head while another 27 lots made $2500 to $2950.
Watch the complete opening lane of sales as screened on the day by Beef Central
Pregnancy-tested in calf cows were also a hot ticket item of the day selling to $3600 with six further lots completing sales beyond $3000/head.
The best priced of these was a yard of 18 2nd and 3rd-calf Carngham Station, Carngham Angus cows, PTIC to Landfall Angus bulls to commence calving March-10.
Romahon, Terang was also well rewarded for yards of 2nd & 3rd-calf Ben Nevis-blood Angus cows, PTIC to Barwidgee blood Angus to commence calving March-1 for eight weeks.
These made $3400 and $3520 a head respectively while a dispersal of R & W Hay “Coormete” (property sold) Hereford, Shorthorn and Hereford/Shorthorn herd -2nd and 3rd-calvers joined to Hereford and Shorthorn for 10 weeks, make $2450 to $3050 over seven drafted pens.
As mentioned, a further highlight of this annual fixture was the sale of cow and calf outfits to a lofty high of $4400.
The recipient vendor, D & K Trigg, Bungaree, presented for sale a yard of 19 by 19 pure Murdeduke-blood Angus heifers, 3.0 years, (not re-depastured), with Nov/Dec-drop Franc-blood calves at foot, while the same vendor cleared 50 Coolana-blood Angus heifers, 2.5 years, Nov/Dec-drop LKK-blood calves at foot in four lots priced at $3750, $3700, $3650 and $3550.
Other pens of calved heifers and cows – same rejoined, same not station – also sold equally as well making $2800 to $3800.
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