Nutrien Ag Solution’s annual Ballarat cattle sale

Summary: 4497 head

Steers: 550-668KG $1900-$2120, AV 335C/KG; 450-550KG $1850-$1970, AV 387C/KG; 360-450kg $1380-$1850, AV 415C/KG; 300-360KG; $1310-$1540, AV 421C/KG; 200-300KG: $1200-$1300 AV 517C/KG.

Heifers: 450-490KG $1480-$1600, AV 334C/KG; 360-450kg $1240-1520, AV 369C/KG; 300-360KG; $1000-$1410, AV 370C/KG.

MORE than fifty percent of Nutrien Ag Solution’s annual Ballarat cattle sale yarding of 4500 head sold to interstate and overseas buying interests with NSW grass-feeders among the leading buyers.

Reinvigorated following recent storm rains, more than a dozen orders from areas north of Dubbo through to the New England competed throughout all stages of the market, except for the heavy grown steer yarding, which was dominated by South Gippsland bullock interests.

The market for steers, in general, was viewed as fully firm on the 5200 steer offering yarded by combined agents at Ballarat the previous week.

While heifer prices were said to be $100 to $150 a head stronger than the centre’s all-agents female sale held two weeks prior.

Nutrien auctioneer Xavier Shanahan said the strong movement in heifer values was a reflection of the surge in overall market prices since the rain began falling across the north.

“That’s seems to be the way things are tracking at the moment,” Mr Shanahan said.

“There was plenty of interest shown from interstate and also from within the state where our traditional buying areas in South Gippsland and the south western areas are also experiencing a good start to their autumns”.

Opening the sale an AP Pearce, Bullarto South, pen of eight Angus bullocks, 668kg, secured the market top price of $2120 a head.

These were sourced for Hopkins River Beef feedlot, as was the next best-priced a yard of 615kg Angus sold account of PR Hastings, Overdale, Korobeit, near Ballan for $2000 a head

An Elders Korumburra order for heavy grown steers soaked up most of the 550-600kg steers at prices bid from $1860 to $2000. However, as the pen weights drifted back under 500kg mark feedlots including Teys Jindalee and Ramps Ridge, Ravensworth were major players along with Australian Food and Fibre, Conargo and Rangers Valley, Glen Innes, all of NSW.

Most of these feeder sales were conducted in the 400 to 420c/kg bracket which resulted in the bulk of the 400 to 500kg sales returning prices between $1750 to $1900 a head.

An example of these exception values was the 109 head Angus steer consignment offered by PR Hastings, Overdale, Korobeit near Ballan.

The lead pen of the Hasting draft, at 615kg, made $2000, the next draft of 14, 574kg, made $1960, the third yard of 20, 550kg was sold for $1880, a further pen of 29, 467kg, made $1930 while final yard of 27, 444kg made $1850.

Graeme Hastings, the father of Philip (PR) Hastings, said his son was extremely happy with his result but the cost of replacing the line was a concern.

The line – Carngham Station blood and bred – he said was purchased 12 months from this same sale for the estimated cost of around the $800 a head mark.

‘I don’t believe we will replicate that again’

“I don’t believe we will replicate that again” he said.

Other significant results among the grown steer yarding included a pen of 36 Angus, 460, sold at $1980 for vendor, Braunlea.

Ballanee sold 18 Angus, 435kg at $1800, Burnside sold 19 Angus, 427kg at $1850 while L Abey sold 14 Angus, 406kg at $1750.

Two yards of Crossroads Angus, 414kg and 379kg, made $1690 and $1600, respectively while a mixed display of white-faced steers made $1400 to $1805 with a number of these absorbed by a Dubbo, NSW order.

In the weaner section the opening yard – a pen of 409kg Angus by Rowallan Lodge, Burrumbeet – made $1750 while the draft’s second yard of 35, – judged as the market’s best presented – made $1680 on a weight of 387kg.

D & A Monahan sold the weaner steer yarding’s heaviest pen. Weighed at 422kg, their yard of 10 Angus made $1720 while a pen of 21 Denholm Green Angus, 418kg, made slightly more, sold at $1740.

With almost all of the weaner steer sales collecting results above 400c/kg and with a large portion of the penning weighed above 320kg, the market then settled into a solid regime of sales between $1400 and $1650 which was 120-125c/kg or $400-$500 a head up on this same sale 12 months ago.

An excellent example of the 12-month price differential was the sale of the 182-head consignment of the renowned Carngham Station spring-drop Angus weaners sold from $1130 to $1320, av $1242.

Offered unweighed with an estimated between 200 and 270kg these differed in value by $440 compared its similar draft last year that made from $760 to $900, av $805.

As mentioned, the demand for heifers was equally as fierce with sales averaging 366c/kg with odds sale breaking 400 cents when sought as breeding purposes.

Lot feeders from northern NSW, Victoria and South Australia were all keen for heifers to the winter supply period while a good number of local and interstate grass-finishers selected heifers as a cheaper operation compared to their higher priced steer counter-parts.

Among the better sales M & J Mizzeni sold 12 Angus, 474kg at $1580, Warrawidgee sold nine Angus, 453kg, at $1570 while Ballanee sold 20 Angus, 405kg at $1540.

In the weaner penning Alexander Family Trust sold 404kg Angus at $1540, Warrengeep cleared 14 Angus, 361kg at $1450 while a yard of MT & CP Mullane Angus, 341kg, made $1410.

DJ & AM Davey received $1260 for a yard of 26 Angus, 312kg, a yard of S Lowe Angus, 312kg, made $1240 while a pen of 20 Glenlogie Angus, 281kg, made $1120.

Pens of white-faced and coloured heifers were minimal. These sales were led by a pen of 30 Swinton Murray Grey, 339kg, sold at $1290 while vendor, Ashmore, sold yards of black baldy heifers, -10 at 360 and 35 at 309kg that made $1380 and $1190 a head respectively.