Cows fetch top dollar

Cows weighing 400 to 520 kilograms selling to slaughter at NSW prime markets averaged 152 cents a kilogram which is much higher than last year's price of 118c/kg.

Meat and Livestock Australia market information manager Ben Thomas said the price for cows had been "creeping higher in the past couple of weeks".

"The prices are higher than where they were at the same time last year," Mr Thomas said.

"It's a fairly significant increase this year."

He said recent rain across a lot of NSW during the past few weeks had helped with price rises.

"While we still need follow-up rain it is a good start," he said.

He said with warm weather there should hopefully be some feed starting to come through.

"The tighter supplies, and a bit of rain about, are working in producers' favour," Mr Thomas said.

He said higher slaughter figures this year - up to 20 per cent for cows and heifers - were a result of ongoing drought conditions, and many producers in western and northern NSW and up into Queensland had little option but to offload stock.

Into the new year, Mr Thomas said rain between now and mid to late January would be one of the main things to determine prices for older females.

However, if hot conditions persist without follow-up rain feed would dry out fairly quickly.

Landmark Wagga Wagga livestock manager Peter Cabot said the older female prime market was currently "as good as it has ever been".

He said dearer prices for cows in the prime market had partially been driven by export demand for cow beef.

At Monday's prime sale at Wagga Wagga, he said cows sold for as much as 168c/kg.

"The big thing is that our cows are so heavy at the moment, and that's due to the good season we've had, and so they are realising enormous prices," Mr Cabot said.

He said while not selling a lot of cows with calves lately, many units were being split.

Mr Cabot also anticipated a limited supply of females into the new year.

A.J.F. Brien and Sons director Peter O'Connor, Coonamble, confirmed cow with calf units had been split lately.

He said with limited rain, high prices for cows with calves as a whole had put them out of many restockers' reach, particularly in the past month, however the recent rain has reignited a bit of restocker activity in the market.

He said the prime market had been very good for cows.

"There are still a lot of cows going to slaughter, and the cow market seems to be one of the best parts of the slaughter market," Mr O'Connor said.

He said some cows had been selling in the vicinity of 160c/kg to 170c/kg, "a big return for a cow with any size about her".

The Meat and Livestock Australia Cattle Industry Overview released this week reported cows had the largest gain of year-on-year price rises.

The national saleyard average for medium cows was 296 cents a kilogram (carcase weight) in November, which was up by 10 per cent on last year.

THERE was plenty for the manager of BST Pastoral Company, Molong, to smile about when the cattle under his watch topped the Carcoar store market last Friday.

The Red Angus matrons with sappy calves at foot sold for a top of $1375 and BST manager Stuart Hobbs said he was pleased with the result.

All up 43 cow units were offered with calves from two to three months old.

Mr Hobbs said the sale was a planned herd reduction.

The younger cows from three to five years were the ones that topped the market, but the rest of the line, which were spit into age groups from six to eight years and then aged, didn't fall below the $1100 mark.

"All the cows had been running with a bull for about two weeks so most would have been unjoined, but ready to get back in calf for the new owners," he said.

Mr Hobbs is pictured right with McCarron Cullinane agent Lindsay Fryer, Orange.

- KAREN BAILEY