Under cool clear skies with a dense smoke haze disguising the horizon, Grafton July store sale delivered some encouraging prices with local demand meeting supply.
Steers to 400 kilograms dominated the yarding, making up 349 of the 573 head making from 150 cents a kilogram to 306c/kg, for Angus 260kg, and averaged 262c/kg or $654. In June this category averaged 238c/kg.
Steers 400kg to 500kg made 216c/kg to 272c/kg to average 262c/kg or $1149. Last month they averaged 252c/kg.
Certainly females were in demand, but buyers were looking for breeders – red tagged, blue tagged, cows and calves.
Heifers to 540kg, 127 head, made 118c/kg to 244c/kg to average 217c/kg or $470. In June they averaged 192c/kg.
Cows 400 to 530kg made 158c/kg to 233c/kg to average 204c/kg – 52c/kg more than last month – or $969.
Liveweight cows, sold open auction, averaged $1007 and topped at $1580 for a pen of Angus cows with calves going back on grass at Alumy Creek via Grafton. Liveweight cows last month averaged $1214 and topped at $1525.
At Thursday’s July store sale, the heaviest steer, 630kg made 226c/kg or $1436 and sold to grass finisher Brian Killmore, on the coast at Kinchela via Kempsey, who dominated bidding for the bigger cross-bred bullocks. He also bought two and four tooth Angus, 453kg at 270c/kg or $1226.
There were others prepared to punt on a fair spring season, despite all the hallmarks of a dry one. Steers going onto feed went to the Darling Downs through Landmark Toowoomba including a pen of milk-tooth Santa Gertrudis cross, 440kg at 272c/kg or $1196,
Some went to for backgrounding in the Macintyre Valley through Bindaree Beef, Inverell, like the pen of 10 Angus, 297kg bought for 302c/kg or $899. Another pen of the same sold, 260kg, sold for 306c/kg.
However, most cattle on sale day didn’t have to travel far.
George Hardacre, Central Bucca, took home a pen of four tooth Angus cross to creep feed on grain, paying 263c/kg for 390kg or $1026. Mr Hardacre also purchased Charolais cross steers, 316kg at 260c/kg or $822.
Ross Lawson sent a pen of cross steers to Clarenza, paying 230c/kg for 492kg or $1133.
Lighter weaner steers were generally penalised with lack of buyers, as the scarcity of winter feed crippling the west creeps closer to the coast. However, the right articles met with interested competition.
Adam and Belinda Chapman, Fine Flower, sold cross steer, Charolais over Brahman/ Hereford, 236kg at 284c/kg or $670, going to Jeff and Fay Archer, Coombadjha Pastoral, who used to breed with first cross females before their partial dispersal.
Dallas Chard, Ulmarra, bought Simmental cross, 276kg at 258c/kg or $714.
Dorrigo buyers were present as theirs is one area free from all drought worry, receiving 80mm earlier this month which re-ignited winter feed. The Beaumont family bought light Angus steers, 179kg for 244c/kg or $437 and grow them out on precision-chopped corn silage.
Hunter Valley Premium Meats, owned by the Collinson family, Newcastle, bought milk tooth Friesan steers, 360kg, at 150c/kg or $540 and paid $538 for red baldy steer, 230kg at 234c/kg.
One local buyer, Harrington Beef, Swan Creek via Ulmarra, certainly brought good competition for steers, paying $690 for Angus steers weighing about 250kg from the Chandler family, Glenugie, at 276c/kg.
Harrington Beef also paid $680 for Angus cross from Rose Morrow, Ramornie, weighing 270kg.
Ms Morrow also sold heifers, 230kg, for $604.
Top Angus cows with calves sold for $1580 to Dean Short, Alumy Creek
Suzanne Barnier, Lower Southgate, paid up to $1162 for Angus red tagged cows, 513kg.
Shamil Livestock, Macksville, paid up to $1260 for a speckle-grey roan cow red tagged to an Angus bull and $1061 for six tooth blue-tagged Angus cows.
Les Moore, Lismore, bought black baldy cows with calves for $1160 and Angus cows with calves for $970.
Dry cows went to the abattoirs, with Northern Co-operative Meat Company at Casino paying $1265 for a dry Angus, 542kg at 233c/kg.
Bindaree Beef, Inverell bought red-tagged Brahman cross cows, 545kg at 233c/kg for $1220.