Prices brighten proceedings at Leongatha Saleyards

WHILE June’s uncharacteristically warm conditions were pushed aside by a grey, cold and wet Winter day for July’s first Leongatha Store Sale on Thursday, the prices continued to deliver a warm glow for sellers.

Weaner steers were among the highlights, with Simon Henderson of Phelan & Henderson & Co remarking many that would have made about $6 a kilo a fortnight ago achieved well over that mark on Thursday.

A consignment of steers from Sandbach Angus on hill country in Welshpool was among the highlights for Phelan & Henderson & Co, with all those cattle making at least $6 a kilo, a pen of 16 weighed at 274 kilos hitting $6.53 a kilo at $1,790 each.

“She buys very good bulls and has beautiful straight-bred cows,” Mr Henderson said of business operator Samantha Sandbach, most of the bulls being Leawood or Langi Kal Kal.

The Sandbach calves were weaned earlier than usual this year, with healthy Autumn rain east of the Prom promoting excellent grass growth.

“When you’ve got calves under 280 kilos, some buyers tend to buy them on price and ignore the price per kilo,” Mr Henderson said, explaining they are focused instead on the margin between heavier cattle they’ve sold and the calves they are buying.

Another impressive run of steers he sold was from Richard and Kath Telling.

“They’re very well-bred cattle out of Woodside, which is not an area renowned for high rainfall, but they do very well; he treats them well and they’re easy to draft,” Mr Henderson said.

That attracts repeat buyers who are willing to pay extra for such high quality and well-behaved animals.

The Telling Angus steers made a top of $6.21 per kilo for 19 weighed at 388 kilos that went for $2,410 a head.

“We’re coming off a very solid market and it seems to be getting a little bit dearer every week,” Mr Henderson remarked.

“We’ve seen 500 kilo steers making $6,” he said, with that increasing what people can afford to pay for weaners, that being evident on Thursday.

Sentinel-Times saw Brian McCormack of Nutrien South Gippsland Livestock achieving strong prices on pens of heavy steers, including one containing 15 Angus from R. McCulloch that averaged 710 kilos and went for $3,760 each at $5.29 per kilo.

Mr McCormack also knocked down a pen of Angus steers from F T Exner of Cobains, weighed at 554 kilos, for $5.86 a kilo at $3,250 a head, those cattle Never Ever accredited.

He described Thursday’s market across the board as “fully firm to 10 to 15 cents dearer in places”.

Nutrien SGL’s Jack Ginnane achieved excellent prices on a number of pens of heifers, with Misty Valley of Dumbalk, and D & M Taylor of Mirboo North among the standouts, quality heifers with a bit of weight performing strongly.

Misty Valley heifers weighed at 426 kilos made $2,540 a head at $5.96 a kilo.

Mr McCormack bought the D & M Taylor heifers sold on Thursday 12 months ago on Doug Taylor’s behalf to grow out, those cattle now ideal for feedlots, one pen making $5.44 a kilo for an average weight of 443 kilos at $2,410 per head.