A LINE of around 600 Angus steers of Glendalloch blood were offered by vendors Rod and Rodda Manning of Davilak Pastoral Company, Mansfield, Vic, during the Wodonga Blue Ribbon Angus Weaner Sale on Thursday.
Held at the Northern Victoria Livestock Exchange (NVLX) at Barnawartha, Vic, the annual January Wodonga weaner sales had 4125 head of Angus steers sold during day one and 3200 yarded during the second day.
The Manning's large draft of 10 to 11-month-old steers were sold through Corcoran Parker, Wodonga, and were European Union (EU) eligible, drenched with Vetmec and Selovin LA in September and vaccinated with Bovi-Shield and three times with 5 in 1.
Rodda Manning estimated the whole draft averaged 320 kilograms and the top 300 head 350kg.
They were yard weaned in November, which was followed by handling them and exposing them to horses and dogs to help quiet them down.
Offering their annual turn-off at the Wodonga Blue Ribbon Angus Weaner Sales, the Mannings sold 300 head in the first draft which was majority of the autumn calves. They also offered some spring calves, and non-replacement heifers.
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Rod Manning said they were happy to get the steers to a good weight.
"In June we thought they were weighing 20kg to 30kg less than previous, but we got them there," he said.
"We have been selling here for the past six or eight years, and in the past they have traditionally gone north, with buyers taking more than one pen.
"We think this year's draft is very even, and appealing to those that want to know what they are getting - they are all the same."
Previously grass-finishing their steers on-farm, they used to sell direct to Coles. Last year they offered 510 steers at the Wodonga sale.
Running around 1400 autumn calving cows and 150 spring calvers, Mr Manning said they had a tough autumn, a mild winter and have been ticking along since.
"We managed to get a bit of pasture growth September to November, and the cattle picked up on that," he said.
"We feel a bit blessed with everything happening at the moment, drought and the current fires ... you look at country NSW and east Gippsland and its terrible.
"Farming is a tough game, and we are grateful to be ok at the moment."
The Manning family primarily runs cattle, retaining 60 to 70 per cent of their heifer drop.
"We retain a large majority of our heifers and have a high turnover of older cull cows," he said.
"At the moment they are making good money ... last month we had cull cows make $1800."
