Cattle price concerns in Koonwarra

Cattle prices at Koonwarra are as low as auctioneer James Kyle can remember seeing them in a long time.

James of SEJ chatted to the Sentinel-Times during Friday’s store sale.

“There are too many numbers in the system at the moment and export sales of meat are down,” he said.

While acknowledging that concerns about possible drought are a topic of conversation for many, James said lots of people are locked into selling as they have yearly consignments of calves which have reached the age of 10 months to a year.

“Also, at this time of year a lot of dairy farmers would be considering shutting up paddocks to cut silage and hay and therefore selling any excess stock on hand.

Approximately 3,700 head of cattle were available at Friday’s Koonwarra sale.

Christine Hulls was there to sell weaners from her Leongatha farm.

“The market is really down,” she said, not sounding confident about the prices the young Angus cattle would fetch.

Joel White, who farms in Arawata, was at Koonwarra to purchase Angus steers.

“It’s good value if you’re buying at the moment,” he said.

However, he said he’d been outbid on cattle that went above current market prices.

Looking for cattle in the 400 kilos plus category and intending to sell once they reach about 600 kilos, Joel said he needs to be mindful of the uncertainties concerning what the market will be like when cattle he buys now are ready for finishing.

He said he’s been keeping an eye out for any positive news he can find regarding the export market that may help boost prices.