SOUTHERN direct consignment slaughter grid prices have shown some sharp rises in value on the back of recent rain-related challenges – in places up to 30c/kg – while Queensland offers this week are unchanged.

The impact of widespread rain in some regions during the back half of February is already being felt, with supply challenges reported from Central Queensland all the way into South Australia.

While not all grazing regions have prospered from the recent falls, enough areas have now received season-making rain that cattle transfer for agistment has already started.

Examples included runs of breeders and young cattle being shifted north out of the desperately dry New England region into agistment in tick-free areas of Central Queensland (story to come later this week), and Central Australian cattle producers, on the back of some recent record breaking falls, operating on light weaner cattle from southern regions of South Australia over the past week.

The extent of warm weather from now to the end of April will determine grass growth from February’s late seasonal break. For some, six or eight weeks of good grass-growing temperatures would build a good feed reserve heading into winter.

“It’s looking like a reasonably safe season on some areas now, heading into winter,” one cattle buyer said. “If you have a big area of grazing country that’s in good shape, at least you have somewhere to go if it remains dry. The difference in 2019 was that everybody was in drought, there was nowhere to go.”

Southern grids firmer

Some southern Australian processors have lifted direct consignment rates on slaughter cattle by up to 30c/kg this week,. Part of that is evidently rain-related, as cattle become hard to deliver, but general shortage is also underpinning that change, Beef Central was told.

Best quotes we’ve seen this week for kills in eastern areas of South Australia are 820c on good quality heavy cows, up from 790-800c a week ago and 870c/kg on four tooth grass ox.

Part of that is weather access related, but despite the sharp rises, buyers have been under-whelmed with the response so far.

A southern NSW export plant was this morning offering 830c/kg on no-HGP four tooth grass ox, and 750c/kg on best cows.

Growth in saleyards offerings is helping support direct consignment prices in some southern regions, with one southern NSW operator suggesting he had good bookings for the next month to six weeks. Its different further east into South Australia, however, where kill rosters are evidently much more current.

In Queensland, we could find no evidence of grid price changes from last week among larger operators.

In southern regions of the state, good heavy slaughter cows are still 750c/kg, and four-tooth ox around 830c (840c may be available on some grids for no HGP, but with the China quota ticking, that may soon become redundant.)

Central Queensland export plants are still struggling to maintain supply due to earlier waterlogged paddocks, but are mostly 10-20c/kg behind southern parts of the state.

Most processors we spoke to for this report felt that the latest military actions in the Middle East would have little material effect any time soon on cattle prices, despite the sea and air freight logistical challenges the events in Iran have delivered. See yesterday’s report, and a follow-up article tomorrow.

Saleyards numbers swell

There’s been some sizeable rises in yardings across the saleyards network in some areas this week.

Gunnedah sale this morning jumped more than 1000 head to 6850, a record yarding. A full field of buyers was operating as well as an extra southern export processor. Feeder steers sold from 476-515c/kg, and feeder heifers from 366-446c/kg. Prime grown steers sold from 455-482c while the prime grown heifers sold from 420-465c/kg. Cows were 10-14c dearer with the score 2s and 3s making from 280-377c/kg. Prime heavy cows sold from 365-405c to average 385c/kg.

Wodonga yarded only 845 this morning, down 355 on last week, due to widespread rain across the supply area. Quality slipped notably with well finished cattle scarce. There were not the usual buyers in attendance and only a couple of buyers operated in the export run for heavy steers and bullocks. Feeder steers in the mediumweight category sold to solid demand to average 449c/kg. On the export side heavy steers and bullocks sold to patchy demand with heavy steers improving 13c making from 428-485c/kg. Bullocks sold 4c softer making 410-472c/kg. In the cow sale, heavy cows were in short supply and most buyers operated solidly, with the bulk of the better heavy cows making from 391-414c/kg.

Roma yarded 7259 this morning, down 375 on last week. An interim report said most regular buyers attended, with an export operator absent. Yearling steers 400-480kg topped 510c to average 412c/kg, while those +480kg sold to 496c to lotfeeders. Grown steers 400-500kg made to 472c/kg, bullocks +600kg to 470c/kg. Full Roma report tomorrow.