Wind in many areas has been relentless, fraying the nerves and sending topsoil on freshly cultivated paddocks sky high. Other places have even had a bit of snow.
It has also meant mixed fortunes within the sale yards, especially for store cattle, which are the main focus at present.
Cattle supply has been plentiful around the country as a combination of annual draft, later offloads and the need to still reduce pressure further on-farm has kept volume on the higher side for most yards.
In these modern times, the ratio of traditional to beef-dairy now swings more towards the latter. And while the clean lines of these types are popular, there are plenty that do not meet buyer approval and are discounted for one reason or another, whether it be colour, condition, type or other factors such as horns.
Traditional and exotic cattle tend to hold their own these days, especially the older, short-term steers, but there has been hesitancy even for these breeds on the longer-term yearlings.
Typically, by this time a grass market would have kicked in, but there are few regions that can boast about surplus feed and that is impacting all classes, regardless of breed. The buyers are appearing at the bigger sales but lack the determination to ensure they take cattle home, seemingly happy to hold off for another week to ‘see what the weather does’.
This contradicts last year’s market as we were riding a wave of positive outlooks for both feed levels and market demand, but we all know that in farming no two years are ever the same.
