ANGUS steers weighing between 300 and 380 kilos achieved excellent results at Thursday’s Leongatha Store Sale, livestock agent Simon Henderson of Phelan & Henderson & Co noting prices between $5.61and $5.94 per kilo, many making around $5.80 a kilo.
He remarked on the sharp rise in prices since Autumn, with a lot of steers having risen by between $1.50 and $2 per kilo since then.
Simon said people are buying to a price and that is driving up the recent cents per kilo figures, giving the example of someone willing to pay $1,800 on cattle weighing 300 kilos, with that resulting in a per kilo price of $6.
“What that indicates is that there is a lot of depth in the market as far as the buying fraternity goes, because if someone jumps off, someone else will jump in,” he said.
That contrasts sharply with the much shallower buying depth during the Autumn dry, when a commission buyer snapped up 15 pens of cattle with one bid.
Simon stressed that “The market’s skipped away but we haven’t got a lot of grass,” noting things are at a pivotal point and that while recent rain has raised confidence levels, many farmers still need more run off into dams.
Paradoxically, once the grass takes off, it will reduce run off.
Despite such challenges, the outlook is positive.
“The export market is strong and all the indicators are for solid prices and possible price gains from here,” Simon said of the current mood, commenting that the high confidence levels driving the market are the opposite of the situation a couple of Springs ago.
Then, the market collapsed due to a lack of confidence following the last boom.
It wasn’t only Angus steers making good prices on Thursday.
A pen of 25 Black Baldy steers from C. Hempel of Stony Creek fetched $2,000 a head, and at an average weight of 364 kilos that came to $5.49 a kilo, those cattle sold by Anthony Delaney of Elders Delaney Livestock.
Charolais steers he auctioned were also making healthy prices, a pen of 16 from Pakenham South’s Kathwal Farm, with Kenmere Charolais Blood, fetching $1,830 each at $4.85 per kilo, averaging 377 kilos.
A slightly lighter pen of 14 Charolais from Calulu Capers in East Gippsland achieved $5.44 per kilo, having an average weight of 325 kilos.
While it wasn’t a Phelan & Henderson & Co selling day, Simon was an interested observer on Thursday, joking that he is “now the weekly special comments man”, an offer this scribe may just take him up on.
Whether making an astute comment or engaging in some banter, he is always entertaining.
