A HUGE buying crowd of restockers from the New England and North West pushed prices to a top of $1430 for yearling steers at the Tamworth store cattle on Friday.
The mixed quality yarding of 2750 head, including 1300 steers, 625 heifers, 635 cows and calves and 185 PTIC females, with cattle coming from Tamworth, Niangala, Gunnedah, Manilla, Currabubula and Bendemeer.
Agent Patrick Purtle, Purtle Plevey Agencies, Manilla, said there was good demand for young stock from restockers at Narrabri, Wee Waa, Coonamble, Inverell, Warialda and the Tamworth region.
Steers were up to $200 dearer than the previous sale, while yearling and weaner heifers fetched $20 to $50 more. Cows and calves were up to $350 dearer and the top PTIC females were $400 dearer.
“This could be one of the dearest young cattle markets we’ve seen,” Mr Purtle said.
“We’ve got an enormous body of feed throughout the eastern seaboard and demand outstrips supply on lightweight cattle that people can improve.”
Lightweight weaner steers weighed from 160 kilograms to 210kg and made between $700 and $950. Heavier weaner steers weighed from 220kg to 300kg and most sold from $1000 to $1200. Yearling steers topped at $1430 for Angus steers from Goolhi producers Dick and Pam D’Hudson, “McEvers Park”.
The D’Hudsons sold 104 11- to 13-month-old steers with Kansas and Triple A bloodlines for an average of $1358. The steers had been on oats for the past three months.
“These were the medium run of 850 steers from last year’s drop,” Mr D’Hudson said.
“It’s a very strong market. I’d hate to be buying.”
It’s a huge improvement from his last lot of steers sold through the sales.
“We had some steers go through the Landmark Classic sale earlier this year and they made $1250, but they were much bigger steers, probably 40kg to 50kg heavier,” Mr D’Hudson said.
Lightweight weaner heifers weighing from 150kg to 200kg sold from $700 to $900 and heavier weaner heifers weighing more than 200 kilograms made between $900 and $1100.
Yearling heifers sold to $1340 for Euro-cross heifers and PTIC females reached $2000. Breeding units topped at $2750 for Shorthorn heifers with four- to five-month-old Wombramurra calves from Brian Filby, Currabubula, but most cows and calves sold from $1800 to $2300.
Among the bigger lines of female cattle were 180 Angus and crossbred cows and calves from Ben Clarke, “Callaghan’s Swamp”, Niangala, with his top pen of Angus breeders making $2420.
The Boyd family, “Boowillia”, Gowrie, sold Angus cows with Angus/black Limousin-cross calves for $2700.