RENEWED confidence in the cattle market was seen on July 18 with increased prices welcomed by breeders as the Wangaratta livestock exchange store market showed signs of returning to a more traditional price trading pattern.
With tough autumn conditions due to little rainfall, cattle producers have had it tough but a reflection on the Wodonga and Wangaratta sales has shown a swing in the tide.
Elders livestock manager of Wangaratta Kirsty Taylor was very pleased with the July sale and believes new confidence has been boosted for local producers moving forward towards spring.
“We had a very good sale with 1200 quality cattle penned on the day with plenty of interest locally,” Ms Taylor said.
“Prices were definitely up from the June sale and I would expect confidence to be instilled moving forward.
“The cattle presented on the day were in fantastic condition and holding great body weight.
“We had a good run of Angus weaners with big feature lines which helped drive competition and prices forward.
“Confidence in the market has certainly given things a big boost this month which also puts our prices on par with the recent store sale in Wodonga.
“A lot of the cattle were purchased by local buyers which is a great sign there is movement and progress in the industry in the local area.”
Wangaratta livestock exchange had steers 300-400kg at $1200-$1400, steers 250-290kg at $1120-$1190, heavy steers 360kgs at $1250, light weight steers 270-320kg $850-$1100, Angus heifers 300-320kg at $3/kg, euro steers 900-1040kg at $3.20/kg, euro heifers 260-320kg at $970-$1040 and black weaner steers at $4.20/kg.
“Moving forward we will come into our Gordon Sinclair memorial sale, which is on August 15 at the Wangaratta livestock exchange that kicks off at 9am,” Ms Taylor said.
Greta West cattle producer Stewart Thrum, with his wife Mary have been on the land for over 60 years running over 70 black bald and Angus Hereford cross cows on 400 acres and they believe this year has been tough going but they see a light at the end of the tunnel.
“The beginning of the autumn break was promising as we did have some rain early in the piece, however, the dynamics changed with little to no rainfall which has not allowed pastures to grow, creating a shortage in feed supply,” Mr Thrum said.
“Right now there is little green pick and we are still in a position where we have been feeding out hay daily.
“Mary and I are feeding out two round bails a day, and at $100 per bail it has become an expensive exercise because of the lack of feed in our paddocks.
“Overall costs on the farm have gone up because of the conditions on the farm which has put a squeeze on budget and profit margin on how much stock to run on the property.
“We decided to offload some of our stock to take some pressure off as we have cows that have started calving already.”
Mr Thrum presented 27 cattle to the July store sale in Wangaratta with 20 steers and seven heifers and he was optimistic that prices would remain steady based on a six-month trend.
“Prices have been up and down over the last six months, but the consensus is with recent rain, paddocks greening up and spring conditions just around the corner, the market should take a turn for the better," he said.
“The recent store sale in Wodonga showed movement in prices which should be a reflection in the market leading into the spring period.”
Mr Thrum was very pleased with his lot sales and feels more confident leading into the warmer months.
"I was very pleased with the end result of our cattle sale as my expectation was around $3/kg but reached $3.89/kg for my steers and reached $1070 each for my heifers, which proves the market is on the move," he said.