Rural Marketing Agencies businesses from Inverell, Tenterfield and Glen Innes have combined forces to run an inaugural two-day weaner sale, offering 6000 head across three sales in April.
More details on lines on offer at each sale will be available closer to the dates.
Inverell - April 15, 10am
CL Squires and Company
Wandsworth weaner producer Tony Stace has one of the bigger lines at the Inverell sale on April 15.
Mr Stace, who's in a herd rebuilding phase following a bushfire in November 2019 which burnt out 6000 hectares in his area, has 60 steers and 60 heifers available in the sale.
The calves are by Clunie Range and Eaglehawk bulls and range from seven to nine months of age.
They're in good condition, on par with Mr Stace's best drops.
"It's a quality line of well-bred calves," he said.
"They usually go to backgrounders who are targeting local feedlots."
Tenterfield - April 15, 2pm
Harold Curry
Among the better quality lines at Tenterfield on April 15 are 50 weaners from Geoff and Claire Robertson Currawong, Boonoo Boonoo.
The draft - 30 steers and 20 heifers - are lighter this year, but they're good quality calves, with Mr Robertson using bulls from Sara Park Angus at Glen Innes for the past decade.
Mr Robertson had to reduce breeder numbers in the drought, and has retained most of the heifers as he rebuilds.
The property was affected by bushfires in February 2019, then had the driest year on record since the 1870s, Mr Robertson said.
"I usually look to sell around 300kg but they're a bit lighter this year.
"We were hand feeding until the middle of December, and we've had 20 inches (500mm) since then."
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Glen Innes - April 16, 9am
Colin Say and Company
Gordon and Sally Wollen, Buckandor, east of Glen Innes, have 105 well-bred steers available in the Glen Innes sale on April 16.
"We're keeping all our heifers until August, then we'll join and keep what we want, and sell the others PTIC (pregnancy-tested-in-calf) in autumn next year," Mr Wollen said.
"We sold joined heifers this year for $2520 on AuctionsPlus, and the market has come back a little bit since that sale, but not a lot."
The Wollens were able to keep most of their cows through the drought, only destocking by 15 per cent, and this year's joining will take them back to normal numbers - 250 to 280 cows and 40 to 50 surplus heifers.
"We made that decision to keep most of them because it was obvious prices were going to skyrocket after the drought," Mr Wollen said.
"I haven't had to buy somebody else's cattle, so we get to determine the genetics that stay in the herd."
The couple has used predominantly Dulverton and Eaglehawk genetics, and they're producing calves with strong growth rates.
"We weighed our autumn drop steers and they averaged 364kg at weaning in February, at nine to 10 months," Mr Wollen said.
"We normally wean before Christmas or in January but we had the feed and the cows were in good condition, so we left them on a bit longer.
The smaller run of steers, which averaged 300kg in February, should be about 340kg by the sale, Mr Wollen said.
All calves have been yard weaned based on the ELMS (Elders Livestock Management Solutions) weaning system which involves four days in a yard, then feeding the calves a grain mix of barley (70pc) and dried distillers grains nuts (30pc) for 30 to 40 days.
"That sets them up for better feed conversion for the rest of their lives," Mr Wollen said.
"In the first year we did it we weaned early, and that was back when we would keep steers to 600kg at 18 to 20 months.
"They were putting on well over 1kg a day in winter on grass and a drylick supplement.
"The heavier steers in this sale will go straight to a feedlot without any setbacks."