Livestock market report

THE cattle job continues to hold in there after an initial correction a couple of months ago with cow and calf outfits achieving from $1,800 to $2,400 depending on breeding and quality.

Sheep, lamb and wool is also showing strength coming into the summer with wool finally rewarding growers for their toils after 20 years of the job underperforming in the grades above superfine.

HF Richardson & Co director Will Richardson recently sold the heaviest bull to cross their books in 30 years.

The retired Poll Hereford bull from the Emmerson family’s farm in Drysdale weighed in at 1,300 kilograms and made a total of $3,431.

The warmer weather has seen hay balers flat out earlier this week trying to beat the rain, after a cooler start to the hay season in the earlier weeks that affected curing times.

Most hay is of good quality adding to the current oversupply of hay after last year’s bumper season, although demand is increasing from the dryer regions of Victoria and some parts of New South Wales.

Market Highlights Ballarat Sheep & Cattle:

Heavy sucker lambs to $199.20
Trade lamb to $166
Store lambs to $130
Two tooth to $135
Grown steers to 15 cents cheaper
Grown heifers to 8 cents cheaper
Heavy cows firm
Quality vealers to 302 cents
Plain type vealers back 20 cents

Ballarat Cattle:

This week’s yarding of 279 cattle at Ballarat were of good quality well finished cattle with more weight making up most of this week’s increased sized yarding.

Price trends amongst the categories varied from the mainly usual following of buyers.

They generally paid firm to easier prices for the better quality young cattle but discounted the few poor to average quality ones.

Plain conditioned vealers were up to 20 cents kilogram cheaper but most yearlings sold at firm levels.

The grown steers were 10 to 15 cents lower with grown heifers five to eight cents per kilogram cheaper.

Cows overall were unchanged but there were some cheaper sales and these were mainly the leaner grades.

The yarding was comprised of 85 steers, 62 heifers, 98 cows and 34 bulls.

The C muscled vealers made 253 to 290 to restockers and processors, with restockers also paying 300 and 302 cents per kilogram.

The yearling portion was from 240 to 290 cents and a restocker paid 331 cents per kilogram for light weight steers.

The C3 and C4 grown steers sold between 245 and 270 cents, while the grown heifers were from 220 to 245 cents per kilogram for the C3 to C5 grades.

There were a few pens of manufacturing D2 Friesian steers that made 215 to 237 cents with most E1 and D1 cows sold between 160 and 195 cents per kilogram and D2 grades made 200 to 224 cents.

The C2 to C6 cows and grown heifers sold from 210 to 242 cents per kilogram with a small number in the extra heavy weight bracket and of 5 and 6 fat score condition.