A MASSIVE yarding of 5400 of the finest bred cattle in the region filled the Wangaratta Livestock Exchange to the brim on Friday to mark the biggest single local sale on record.
The total turnover of $5.91 million from the first of two blue ribbon grown and weaner sales was the biggest the livestock exchange has seen for a single sale according to general manager Tim Donald, and it could be even bigger for the second blue ribbon sale on Wednesday with another 5500 to 5700 head expected to go under the hammer.
The official yarding of 5386 head was also the biggest by a sole livestock agency in Wangaratta’s history, with all sellers’ clients under Corcoran Parker.
Livestock agent Reiley Murtagh said it’s the agencies feature sale on the calendar and the major turnover of around 11,000 head of cattle in two weeks at the saleyard was a huge boost for Wangaratta and surrounds.
“Our main objective is to keep being able to support our clients in selling their cattle and make sure they can all get a crack at one of these blue ribbon sales,” he said.
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“Year in year out we’ve got a very good client base that support us and trusts us to sell these cattle and they aim for these sales and do a lot of work to get their cattle to the way they were.”
Crews worked throughout the night at the Wangaratta Livestock Exchange to pen the huge yarding of cattle and the 30-minute delayed start didn’t deter a strong crowd throughout the sale.
Since local producers cashed in on a peak in the market in feature sales in early January, priced have taken a slight dive in the past month which was reflected at Friday’s sale.
From averages around the $4/kg mark in early January, quality Angus weaners were going for around $3.80/kg on average on Friday, according to Mr Murtagh.
Grown and weaned steers averaged $3.65/kg with heifers going for $2.96/kg.
Mr Murtagh said the price dip from earlier January sales was expected, but both buyers and sellers found value in the top quality lines of cattle.
“It’s all around how positive everyone is in the market, it was cheaper, but for the better end of calves the job was still very solid,” he said.
“It’s at a level that’s keeping people entertained to buy and to buy cattle at the right price.
“For your seller, it’s incentive to get their cattle at the right weight and it’s getting a good return for them as well.”
Some of the top pens of the sale included a pen of 27 Angus steers with Rennylea and Ardrossan blood at 411kg from TGL @ Neds, Molyullah for $1611/head ($3.91/kg) and a pen of 22 Angus steers with Alpine Angus bloodlines at 388kg from MG Neilson, Sandy Creek for $1575/head ($4.05/kg).
A pen of 21 Angus steers with Banquet and Conamara bloodlines at 326kg from A&M Dobson & Son also exceeded market performance going for $1370/head ($4.20/kg).
As they were in the January sales, the northern buyers in areas of northern New South Wales and southern Queensland areas were again a factor in securing a high percentage of the cattle.
Mr Murtagh said while the impact of northern buyers on the market demand wasn’t as big as the earlier sales sale in January, it was promising to see solid competition coming from local buyers.
“A lot of these cattle are generally purchased by local people, they’re repeat buyers that buy the good cattle from around our area and beyond,” he said.
“But also there’s that impact of the northern buyers wanting a piece of the very well bred weaners and grown cattle.”
Filling out the saleyard on Friday were pens of grown cattle sent from the state’s western district, normally retained but put on sale due to the dry season in the area.
Mr Murtagh said it was great for the agency to support the farmers who continue to do it tough in their region.
“The western district has probably been hit the hardest in the last eight months and they’re continuing to have a poor season and be hit by the elements down there,” he said.
“These cattle had been put away and consigned to us from farmers down that way and they definitely would have been happy with the result.
“They presented well and put on a fair travel to come here, but they were still strolling, and they’ll go on for anyone that bought them.”
Wednesday sale featuring cattle from agencies AWN, Elders and Nutrien will kick off at 9am at the Wangaratta Livestock Exchange to conclude Wangaratta’s blue ribbon sales.
There will be no prime sale at the saleyard on Tuesday this week, due to the blue ribbon sale on Wednesday.
