Livestock market report – March 1, 2018

LAMB numbers to processors surged the last couple of weeks as producers begin to exhaust the grain value in their stubble crops and the dry continues.

Large numbers coming off stubble in North Western Victoria and Southern NSW kept both the export and domestic lamb processors busy, softening prices over the hooks until the backlog cleared.

We are seeing new calves starting to drop around our region with most cattle remaining in good to forward condition off the back of a good spring and early summer, with ample hay stores enabling most farmers to dry feed with extra gusto.

There were approximately 18,000 lambs and 8,000 sheep yarded at Ballarat Tuesday with heavy export lambs firm to $2 per head dearer.

Market Highlights Ballarat Sheep & Lamb:
Heavy export lambs to $230
Heavy trade lambs to $165
Store shorn lambs to $128
Light processor lambs to $115

Mortlake Cattle:
The yarding 1,034 cattle at Mortlake this week was of mixed quality in a further reduced sized yarding of cattle that sold to a near similar field of buyers.

Increased numbers of leaner conditioned young cattle along with more dairybred cows came forward but the grown steer yarding was further improved and comprised mainly good to very good C3 and C4 grades.

Heavy weight beef bulls and grown heifers were scarce this week with prices achieving equal to mainly 5 cents easier for grown steers when quality was factored in, and young cattle sold fully equal and up to 10 cents per kilogram higher in places especially for plainer quality and restocking lines.

Poor conditioned E1 cows averaged 15 cents cheaper but most other grades sold closer to unchanged.

The mainly C2 penning of vealers made from 240 to 270 cents with restockers paying to 286 cents per kilogram.

The C2 and C3 yearlings were also from 245 to 270 cents with steers to restockers up to 280 cents and their heifers to 260 cents per kilogram.

The D2 yearlings made 210 to 228 cents with the best of the restocker sales at 240 and 245 cents per kilogram.

The D1 grade sold between 170 and 218 cents and a top sale to a restocker made 235 cents per kilogram.

Most prime conditioned C3 and C4 grown steers were between 250 and 265 cents with older bullocks from 230 cents per kilogram.

The D3 crossbred steers made similar prices to last week at 215 to 250 cents but averaged 10 cents per kilogram lower and good quality C3 to C5 beef cows sold between 202 and 215 cents.

Ballarat Cattle:
Monday’s increased yarding of 311 cattle at Ballarat was average in quality and ranged from plain to very good.

The usual buying group attended and operated in a mostly dearer market with vealer numbers limited, but they did sell dearer to the trade and at similar levels to restockers.

The yearling cattle improved up to 20 cents, with grown steers improving 10 to 15 cents and making to 250 cents per kilogram.

Manufacturing steers also sold stronger and made to 206 cents for the dairy types with the crossbreds selling to 210 cents per kilogram.

Medium cows eased a few cents, but some good quality runs of C and D muscle cows sold a few cents better and made to 219 cents per kilogram.

The yarding was made up of 112 steers, 98 heifers, 65 cows and 31 bulls, vealers and yearlings sold to the trade from 210 to 265 cents with feeders and restockers paying from 190 to 252 cents per kilogram.

The grown heifers improved a few cents and sold from 204 to 230 cents with the D muscle 2 and 3 scores from 158 to 200 cents per kilogram.

Medium and heavy C muscle cows sold from 180 to 219 cents with heavy D muscle cows from 182 to 211 cents per kilogram.