A big yarding of almost 1000 store cattle was presented on Thursday, keeping PGG Wrightson auctioneer Peter Kelly very busy on his last day on the job.
The offering included several advertised lines of 2-year heifers and weaners, and while the rainy-day sale attracted a good bench of buyers, bidding on the bigger cattle was not quite as brisk as previous weeks and prices eased by about 10c/kg.
Heavy 2-year and 30-month steers in the 485-570kg weight range traded at $2.74-$2.85/kg, with medium lots, 380-460kg, making $2.70-$3.30/kgLW and lighter steers, 300-380kg, $2.90-$3.30/kg.
Some nice quality steers were offered in the weaner section. A very good line of Charolais-Angus steers at 263kg sold well at $940. Good whiteface steers were also keenly sought-after, with a 141kg lot earning $690 and a 130kg lot making the same money. Angus weaner steers sold at about $580.
There was plenty of choice in the heifer section and most of the older lots, 350-480kg, sold at $2.55-$2.65/kg.
Good weaner heifers were in demand. Charolais-Angus heifers at 253kg earned $850 and a nice line of Angus weaners at 222kg fetched $760. Good whiteface heifers, 110kg, made $550.
Bull numbers were light. A good line of Friesian bulls at 340kg returned $2.90/kg and a handful of Friesian weaner bulls, 130kg, made $480.
A shortage of killing space might have affected steer and heifer prices at Wednesday’s prime sale. Prime steer prices were back by about 5c/kg on the previous week, with most lots selling at $2.60-$2.80/kg. Heifer prices eased by about 10c/kg, with most heifers earning $2.50-$2.68/kg.
Another big yarding of cows was presented, including about 400 boners. A line of heavy Hereford beef cows, 600kg-plus, sold well at $2.20/kg. Most of the heavier dairy lots sold at $1.80-$2.12/kg, with a line of in-calf autumn-calving cows selling up to $1400.
Paddock buyers were prepared to pay a premium for younger cows in the 370-450kg range and most of these lots made $1.70-$1.90/kg. Medium boners earned $1.55-$1.80/kg and lighter Jersey-type cows $1.30-$1.55/kg.
A smaller yarding of about 700 sheep was offered on Monday. Good prime lambs traded at $85-$105 and store lambs earned $55-$80. A small entry of ewes sold well, with most lots making $40-$80.
