THICK bush fire smoke and soaring temperatures did little to take the heat out of the prices at the annual Wodonga weaner sales last week.
Traditionally the opening sales at Wodonga are the first for the new year and act as a yardstick for the rest of the southern cattle market.
This year's results came in much better than the 2019 result with weaner steers topping at $1410 a head, while on a cents a kilogram basis the better lines made 300 to 320 cents a kilogram (liveweight).
Those dollar a head values were at least $130 a head dearer than last year.
Competition was varied across the two days of sales.
On the Thursday, northern NSW lot feeders worked hard to fill their trucks with the heavier weight weaners as big lines of one-brand Angus steers were sold with an option of one pen or several pens on the winning bid.
The agents kept the selling pace up with local restockers and backgrounders mopping up the lighter weaners later in the Thursday sale.
By Friday's sale, the NSW lot feeder buyer competition was knocked back a notch as local restockers picked up the bidding pace.
Superb quality and well grown weaners in the lead pens were snapped up for prices well beyond $1000 a head, while the best lighter weaners were hard to buy for less than 300c/kg.
Across both days a buyer from the other side of Bass Strait kept popping up on the buyers' rail filling an order for well-bred weaner heifers.
Targeting heifers from 320kg to 350kg at about 245c/kg, Stafford Ives-Heres of Shanford Park, Marrawah, north-west Tasmania, runs a fifth generation business and was in the market for heifers to either background or grow on as breeders.
He had previously bought cattle from other Victorian sales as well as from the Wagga Wagga saleyards and also attended the sale last year but said he couldn't get his hands on anything for the right price that fit the bill.
He said the cattle this year weighed more compared to last, and the quality was impressive, with a number of big and even lines.
"We were purchasing at around the 245c/kg price mark, and to get them home would cost about 20c/kg so that gets them landed for about 270c/kg," Mr Ives-Heres said.
Mr Ives-Heres said most people in Tasmania tend to run spring-calving herds, meaning it was hard to buy autumn-drop animals in larger runs.
"It is different to see big, even drafts of this age of cattle this time of year," he said. "It is hard to buy a run in Tasmania, you might get 10 or 12 head but can't get numbers.
Weaner supply hit for sale this week
BUSH fires in southern NSW and Victoria have hit supply during the second week of the annual Wodonga weaner sales.
Originally there were three sales listed this week, but unfortunately the sale booked for yesterday was cancelled.
Ray White Rural Wodonga manager James Brown said it was regrettable the proposed offering of black and mixed coloured weaners did not eventuate on Wednesday.
He said his intention leading up to the new year was to yard at least 1000 top quality weaner steers and heifers.
"However with the season closing in, many producers unloaded their stock before Christmas," he said.
"That cut our numbers, but it was the bush fires in the past few days which really was the straw which broke the camel's back."
Sales booked for today and Friday will proceed.
Agent Michael Unthank, BUR Wodonga, expected more than the 3500 advertised to be yarded today, while agent Mark Breen, Paull and Scollard Landmark, Wodonga also confirmed the Friday auction will still take place with 4000 head up for grabs.
