Prices varied at Grafton store sale on Thursday, with 840 head yarded, but quality was the deciding factor with progeny travelling from Shepparton to Meandarra and west to Tamworth. Plenty stayed local including Dorrigo and the Macleay.
Bullocks 655 kilograms to 360kg sold 276 cents per kilogram to 210c/kg bringing from $756 to the top of $1665 at 254c/kg. Yearlings topped at $952 and averaged $674. Steers under 400kg sold from 170-400c/kg to average $795. Heifers to 540kg sold from 178-324c/kg averaging $680. Cows 183-256c/kg to average $1200, topping at $1460.
Everyone expected down, down prices in light ofthe market softening. Indeed, after the heavy steers one veteran of the Jap Oxe trade remarked bids were down 35-40 cents per kilo compared to June. Yearlings were down too, about 20 cents said another seller but bidding for quality younger cattle was as strong as ever.
Adam and Belinda Chapman, Fine Flower have never been paid so high for a pen of their calves, Charolais over Brahman/ Hereford first cross, 225kg, which drew 400c/kg from a local repeat customer and topped the day. Their heifers of the same, 219kg, sold to 277c/kg and travelled to Inverell.
The seasons vary on the coast from soggy on the lower Clarence to fine on the lower Macleay. Among the volume buyers were Charlie and Brian Kilmore, ‘Smokey’, Kinchela, who bought 10 heavy steers for growing out as well as 11 cows in calf to take advantage of a fair season, paying up to $1665 for Brahman cross, 655kg, bidding 254c/kg.
Will Cootes and his auntie Renae Thompson, Swan Creek, purchased a pen of Brahman cross steers from Graham and Robyn MacDougal, Glen Elgin, for $779 paying 298c/kg at 261kg. Renae and her husband Don will grow them out to four to five year old bullocks for the export market.
Kim McKenna and Peter Lake, PK Rural, Gilletts Ridge via Grafton paid $940 for Charolais/ Brahman over Hereford first cross weaner steers 348c/kg at 270kg from Peter and Donna Drayton, Lower Southgate. The couple also bought Charolais over Santa cross Hereford steers for $846 at 360 c/kg at 235 kg.
Drayton steers also went to the Tablelands with Harold Petit, Pinkett, who purchased a pen, 337kg, for 332c/kg or $1119.
Jeff Anderson sold pure Charolais weaner heifers, 300c/kg at 221kg to make $666 with the calves part of a British and Euro only consignment heading to Shepparton, Victoria.
Best cows, pregnant, were four tooth Angus/ Brahman in calf to a Nairn park bull from Michael and Meg Martin, Arndilly Pastoral, Tullymorgan, with the research farm at Trenayre the clear winning bidder, knocking the dearest of two pens up to $1460.
Bruce Finlay, Kangaroo Creek, sold backgrounded Senepol/ Droughtmaster steers, 12 months old,450kg for $1261 at 278c/kg, back about 20 cents on what Mr Finlay expected. He also bought eight young ‘ruffies’, half a dozen Angus and two Charolais, all about 160kg to average $472 which he will grow out to feeder market size, same as the Senopol cross cattle he sold on Thursday.
The lowest bids on the day went to poorly structured representatives of hobby breeds like Belted Galloway cows with calves for 100c/kg and similar Devon steers that were knocked down for 170c/kg.
The sale was conducted by Farrell and Macrohan with Ray Donovan.
