The hot cattle market hasn’t just been limited to the mainland in 2021, with some excellent results and growth through AuctionsPlus Tasmanian sales. For the September quarter of 2021, the number of Tasmanian cattle listed through AuctionsPlus increased 9% year-on-year, and an 8% increase in the number of vendors was registered – with an additional 165 buyers in 2021 securing cattle.
Held each Friday, the Tasmanian cattle sale has seen 15,283 head sold through the first ten months of 2021, with Victoria the largest mainland purchaser – securing 1,650 head. Given the obvious logistical constraints faced by Tasmanian sales, there has still been some excellent sale results, including the uptake of the “Buy Now” feature. The Tasmanian cattle sale has witnessed a successful adoption of the “Buy Now” feature, as vendors and agents seek the opportunity for online buyers to control when to buy stock at a set price, instead of a traditional auction selling method.
A recent successful pre-sale “Buy Now” purchase consisting of four lots of 1x1 registered Speckle Park PTIC cow & calf and one PTIC cow sold to $14,500/head, to a South Australian buyer. The Speckle Park cows were offered by Ac “JJ & VA Argent” through Elders Tasmania, with all five lots sold via the “Buy Now” function. Nutrien Ag Solutions Tasmania agents have also utilized the “Buy Now” function, selling 221 head in 2020 and 263 head so far in 2021.
Unwavering restocker momentum from eastern states purchasers continued to bolster demand for Tasmanian cattle for the past quarter, with a line of 23 PTIC cows from Dairy Plains, Northern Tasmania, selling to an NSW buyer for $2,675/head. The line was offered by Elders Tasmania on behalf of A/c “NR Graham”. Similarly, Greaves Marketing Services offered a line of 3–4-year-old Angus PTIC cows by A/c “G. Propsting & Sons” which sold to a Victorian buyer for $2,430/head.
Steers weighing 330kg+, totaled 1,073 head (26%) for the September quarter – a 71% increase from the same period in the previous year. A heavy steer highlight in recent months included 13 Angus yearling steers weighing 509.6kg lwt offered by Webb & Woodiwiss on behalf of A/c “RP & TA Elias” which sold to a Victorian buyer for $2,390/head. Local demand also remained strong as 6 Angus feeder steers weighing 479kg lwt sold for $1,980/head to a Tasmanian buyer, offered by Livestock Consulting Tasmania in conjunction with Elders Tasmania for vendor “B H K Pastoral”.
2021 year-to-date numbers indicates PTIC female listings have increased significantly. A total of 1,162 head of PTIC cows sold online, while 1,220 PTIC heifers were sold on the platform. Most cows sold to local buyers, while the interest in PTIC heifers from the mainland increased, with NSW buyers securing 122 head.
Throughout 2020 and 2021, monthly clearance rates as highlighted in Table 1 for the Tasmanian cattle sale have been consistently robust, with clearances above 90% commonly achieved, even seeing several months hitting 100% - well above the comparative rate for many of the mainland states. Strong clearance rates are indicative of realistic reserves, with the gap between agent and vendor expectations and buyer willingness closely aligned.
Table 1: Monthly AuctionsPlus clearance rates for Tasmanian sales