PRIME cow prices' positive position appears to be in contradiction to the rest of the NSW cattle market.
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Saleyard results in the past week have cow prices as much as 15 cents a kilogram dearer, while some lines of big, heavy cows in calf have attracted even better bids as processors chase the added cash from the foetal blood market.
Agents are quick to point out the limited supply of cows at prime sales may be part of the bigger picture forcing values up, but a slightly weaker Australian dollar and demand from some overseas markets may also be at play.
It was clear the reduced offering of females had a bearing on the trends at Wagga Wagga market on Monday.
A flurry of bids on the heavy cows pushed prices up 13c/kg to 15c/kg and resulted in values as high as 254c/kg.
Montanna Ross, Riverina Livestock Agents, Wagga, said although the good quality heifers were selling at similar rates to past sales, the cows were definitely dearer.
"The yarding was a bit smaller, plus there was an extra processor buying which helped the prices, too," she said.
Ms Ross said the quality of the cows had improved.
"It's a pretty good season around here, so you'd expect the condition to be good at the moment," she said.
Spirits were high among selling agents at Carcoar on Tuesday morning as the cow pens provided a bright spot in an otherwise steady winter market.
Kevin Miller, Whitty, Lennon and Company agent Ryan Browne, Orange, said he expected the cows to be dearer again this week.
"The rain has helped and that's meant the supply on the market has come back.
"I'd estimate, due to this, the prices for good heavy cows were 4c/kg to 6c/kg dearer as the market picked up a bit of ground."
Mr Browne said in light of the reduced supply there was now hope of a better market towards the end of winter and into spring.
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Meat and Livestock Australia senior market information analyst Ripley Atkinson said NSW cattle slaughter figures remain much higher than in recent years and this week's data indicated that kills were the highest since the first week of March 2020.
"We don't expect those higher slaughter numbers in NSW to trend lower in the short term," he said.
Mr Atkinson said processor demand for the better, heavier cows was evident across many NSW sales in the past week.
"The 520kg-plus cows are making up a much larger percentage of the cow indicator and the lighter cows from 400kg to 520kg are at a 26c/kg discount to the heavier ones," he said.
He said the current value of the Australian dollar, at about US67c to US68c (which is low from a historical perspective), was also helping to make manufactured Australian beef more competitive on the world market, particularly into the US.
Mr Atkinson said it's evident that even with the higher slaughter figures and sustained demand for heavier cows that the processors are finding ways to deal with the changing market dynamics.
