Part of a line of 217 Droughtmaster backgrounder steers 6-13 months averaging 334kg from Taroom QLD which made 523.6c/kg this week. Click on image for a larger view.

AuctionsPlus cattle throughput numbers contracted by 10 percent this week, with 12,956 head listed online for the first sale of the new financial year.

A larger catalogue of heavier and feeder steers was offered, with 330-400kg and 400kg+ steer categories listings increasing by 169pc and 283pc, respectively.

All steer weight categories declined in price this week, while heifer prices were mixed.

Smaller offerings were seen in four out of the five heifer categories this week. Listings for heifers 200-280kg contracted by 45pc, while 400kg+ heifers saw a 62pc decline in listings.

Tightened supply and ongoing demand for young heifers buoyed prices, with a 12c/kg lift in the 200-280kg category this week, averaging 592c/kg. From Deniliquin, NSW, 85 Angus heifers 9-10-months averaging 236kg returned $1800/head, finding a buyer near Pakenham, Victoria.

Heavy heifers 400kg+ also registered a lift in price and demand, with 100pc clearance and a 25c/kg price lift, to average 442c.

A line of Angus feeder heifers from Tenterfield, NSW, averaging 415kg, experienced a wealth of bidding activity – selling $495 over reserve price, at 519c/kg to return $2154.

Medium and heavy steer categories this week declined from 13c/kg to 40c/kg, on average.

A line of 121 Santa weaned steers 4-8 months averaging 267kg from Mundubbera QLD made 613.3c/kg, while two lines totalling 217 Droughtmaster backgrounder steers 6-13 months averaging 334kg from Taroom QLD made 523.6c/kg.

Further south, a line of 70 unweaned mixed sex Wagyu x Angus weaners 4-9 months averaging 217kg from Ashford on the NSW northwest slopes made 1017c/kg, or $2210/head. The same vendor offered a further 43 feeder weight brothers 386kg at 16-22 months, averaging 790c/kg or $3050.

This line of 121 Santa weaned steers 4-8 months averaging 267kg from Mundubbera QLD made 613.3c/kg this week

Breeding cattle

Prices and demand for breeding stock accelerated this week, with PTIC heifer and cow categories both increasing by $60 and $94/head, respectively.

A line of 55 six-year-old Angus PTIC cows from Coolac, NSW averaging 655kg returned $2980. The cows were joined to Reiland Angus bulls and will travel south into Victoria.

Non-station mated (NSM) categories registered the largest price increases this week, with NSM cows and calves averaging $588 higher than last week, at $3223. NSM heifers and calves also averaged $403 higher, with both categories achieving 100pc clearance.

A line of 5-7-year-old NSM Charolais cows averaging 610kg, with CAF from Emerald, Queensland, returned $3240/head and will travel south to Inverell, NSW. The calves aged 1-7 months were sired by Palgrove Ultra Black bulls and weighed 210kg.

Prices as at 2pm Friday.

Online buyers sharpen focus towards premium runs

StockLive buyers turned their attention to premium-quality lines at the Northern Victorian Livestock Exchange (NVLX) Store Sale on Thursday, where grown steers reached $2290/head.

An online buyer from the southern highlands in NSW securing 119 head, which included a run of 21 Hereford yearling steers, offered by RR and JC Trethowan, which weighed 416kg and sold for $2030/head.

Another highlight in the buyer’s purchase included an RR and JC Bauer Angus cross pen, which was bought for $2000/head and averaged 404kg.

Sam Gordon, Paull and Scollard Nutrien Ag Solutions, said online buyers drove the market at NVLX, which was firm to dearer, bucking the usual trends for mid-winter Store Sales.

“There is just no dull in this market at all,” Mr Gordon said.

“The sky is the limit on where it can go and every month our prices hold firm or get stronger.

“StockLive buyers were very active throughout the whole sale and, in a lot of cases, were purchasing at the top end of each category.”

Combined agents, Paull and Scollard Nutrien Ag Solutions and Elders, yarded 1800 head of good quality cattle.

The auction kicked off strongly with the first pen to go under the hammer, a lot of cows and calves, reaching $3580/unit.

Features in the 200 to 300kg steer line included a Woolamia Pastoral Company, Finley, run of 200 quality weaners which sold for 624c/kg and averaged 250kg to return $1560/head.

Averages for Angus lines in the 300kg to 400kg reached 558c/kg, and a highlight in this category was a 310kg Phil and Gwen Lavis, Bungowannah, NSW, offering of 54 steers that averaged 571c/kg, topping at $1835/head.

Heifers were equally strong and peaked at $1765/head.

Later in the week, at the Tamworth Regional Livestock Exchange (TRLX) Store Sale on Friday, online buyers also made their presence known.

Cathy Hockings, Bective, secured some light steers for her operation, with plans to fatten for at least 12 months before pushing back through the TRLX Prime Cattle Sale.

“Today I was looking for some light steers. I tend to prefer Angus cattle, but they are hard to secure at the moment, so I have been looking at other breeds,” Ms Hockings said.

Among Ms Hockings’ run was a vendor-bred Angus cross pen, which she bought for $1030/head.

Another online sale highlight included a Speckle Park yearling steer pen, secured by a NSW buyer, for $1370/head.

Nathan McConnell, Elders, said the auction was firm to dearer across the board with exceptionally strong demand for breeding stock.

“Preg-tested cows, and the cows-and-calves market lifted by about one hundred and fifty dollars compared to our last fortnightly sale,” Mr McConnell said.

A highlight in this category included a run of Currawidgen PTIC Hereford cows, which made $2450/head.

Bungulla Partnership also had a good result for its Charolais cows and calves pen which sold for $3150/head.

“The season we are having is just unbelievable and it doesn’t look like it is going to change, so people have grass in their paddocks and are chasing breeding stock,” he said.

At NVLX Store Sale on Thursday, an online buyer from the southern highlands in NSW secured 119 head, which included a run of 21 Hereford yearling steers 416kg offered by RR and JC Trethowan, which sold for $2030/head.

Sources: AuctionsPlus, Stocklive