RECORD prices for a top-quality yarding of Northern Rivers cross-bred weaners on Thursday and Friday put big smiles on the faces of producers, but perhaps more telling is the fact buyers see the current market as sustainable.
Given the investment in genetics and years of breeding experience behind Casino's big three-day George and Fuhrmann autumn weaner sale, the backgrounders, bullock fatteners and lotfeeders bidding on cattle were confident of their ability to turn a dollar on the calves.
The majority doing the bidding were repeat customers of coastal weaners.
There was a total clearance of 4323 weaner steers and heifers on the final two days of the annual sale with Charolais-cross steers topping at $1118 on Thursday and Santa Gertrudis-Hereford steers topping at $1052 on Friday, the best prices in the sale's 40-year history.
Greg Upton, Upton Pastoral Company, Walcha, (pictured) took 760 steers, mostly Santa Gertrudis-Herefords on Friday and Charolais-cross on Thursday.
He said he was looking for softness, the right mix of breeds to achieve high performance growth, doability and dollar returns at the end of day.
Mr Upton buys from as far afield as South Australia and Southern Victoria to Northern NSW and said some of best weaner purchases came from Casino.
"They are very good operators who buy good bulls and know what they are doing when it comes to producing a weaner," he said.
"Prices are considerably up on what they've been but where I'm buying in at 260 cents a kilogram I'm now getting 280c/kg going out so I'm a long way further ahead than I have been in the past few years.
"I think most buyers here today stand to make a reasonable return on investment over the next 12 months and that's good for the whole industry."
Shan Goodwin
Journalist for The Land on the North Coast.
Journalist for The Land on the North Coast.
