Strong and fair prices at Leongatha Store Sale

PRICES were significantly up on a fortnight ago at Thursday’s Leongatha Store Sale, with steers and heifers both performing strongly.

Deb Chisholm of Korumburra South sold a pen of 14 Angus steers through Nutrien that averaged 345 kilos and sold for $2,090 a head to Eddie Hams of Nutrien at $6.05 a kilo.

“I thought it would be around that, so I’m comfortable,” she said, commenting on the consistently nice yarding of cattle on Thursday and prices that are fair for buyers and sellers.

The Chisholm steers, carrying Kunama blood, were bred by the Westerns through their Elm Valley operation in Tarwin Lower.

“They’re very good doers and have nice temperaments,” Ms Chisholm said of the Western’s cattle.

Jimmy Kyle of SEJ agreed Thursday’s prices were fair to buyers and sellers, while having clearly risen compared to the agency’s previous Leongatha Store Sale.

He believes that increase was in line with quality and buyer confidence boosted by recent rain.

“We had a good run of cattle and quality cattle always sell very well,” Mr Kyle said, elaborating on what’s driving buyer confidence.

“There’s plenty of grass in the local area, especially in South Gippsland, East Gippsland’s had a big dumping of rain approximately a fortnight ago, and there’s talk that it’s going to rain again this weekend.”

Stating that high quality vendor-bred steers always perform well, Mr Kyle said prices achieved on those cattle exceeded expectations on Thursday.

An example was David Hall’s Fish Creek calves, weighed at 364 kilos, ticking all the boxes and Never Ever accredited, that achieved $6.04 a kilo at $2,200 a head.

“Cattle that weight and quality a month or six weeks ago might have been about $5.30 or $5.40 a kilo,” Mr Kyle said.

Dropping back a bit in weight, a pen of 20 Angus vendor bred steers from ‘Sunrise’ on Phillip Island that averaged 310 kilos hit $6.38 a kilo at $1,980 each, having Te Mania blood.

Good quality heavier steers, including those with colour, also performed well, Mr Kyle kicking off Thursday’s proceedings by selling a pen of 14 Herefords from V&B Mulder of Outtrim that averaged 592 kilos and sold for $2,970 each at $5.01 per kilo.

A pen of 15 Angus steers weighed at 559 kilos that ticked all the boxes and featured Dunoon blood, vendor bred by N. Stuart of Nerrena, achieved $5.22 per kilo at $2,920 a head.

Heifers consistently brought comfortably over $5 a kilo, with Sentinel-Times seeing a couple of pens go close to $6 per kilo.

“Heifers sold exceptionally well today,” Mr Kyle said.

While auctioning Angus cattle from C & G White of Fish Creek, he described them as “impeccably bred little heifers”, those cattle having Banquet blood and years of high quality breeding behind them.

That breeding showed in the prices achieved.

A pen of 18 of the White’s heifers weighed at 290 kilos hit $5.96 per kilo at $1,730 a head, while a further 18 that averaged 314 kilos made $5.92 per kilo at $1,860 each.