Weekly Cattle Comments - 14.01.22

The significant jump in the number of cattle offered through AuctionsPlus commercial cattle sales this week was no match for the hungry buyers in waiting. With 15,684 head offered across the three main commercial sales, up 42% on the same week in 2021, prices were higher across all the proven breeding categories, with the PTIC heifer and PTIC cow markets kicking up to a new level.

The recent seasonal outlook from the BOM continues to underpin the extraordinary confidence within the industry, as next week looks to see a return to wet conditions across a large swathe of northern and eastern Australia. Patchy storms throughout the past week saw some heavy falls through selected regions of eastern Australia, especially through already saturated parts of central and southern NSW.

Except for the heaviest category, the young steer categories largely held steady to slightly higher on last week, absorbing the higher supplies offered both through the online market and at various physical markets. The highly desired 200-280kg category registered an 89% clearance rate for the 1,580 head offered, with prices slipping only $3 on last week to average $1,839/head. 280-330kg steers edged $4 higher, to average $2,099/head, while the heavier 330-400kg lots averaged $2,220/head – up $29 on the previous week.

Table 1: AuctionsPlus National Weekly Cattle Prices
Table 2: AuctionsPlus Queensland Weekly Cattle Prices
Table 3: AuctionsPlus Angus Weekly Cattle Prices

Feeder steers slipped back $107 this week, eroding last week’s gains, to average $2,499/head, or 32c lower, at 550c/kg lwt. The clearance rate for the category also slipped, finishing the sale at 64% for the 1,295 head offered, with the increased availability of 400kg+ steers in both the physical and online market so far in 2022 having a minor impact on prices this week.

For the female categories, the proven joined lines all kicked higher this week, with PTIC heifers rising $102 on last week, to average $3,310/head. Easily the largest category for the week, the 2,499 head offered sold to an 80% clearance rate. Interestingly, the PTIC Angus lines (see Table 3), which made up 61% of the category, sold to a 92% clearance rate, and averaged slightly higher at $3,462/head. With PTIC cows also dearer this week, up $374 on last week, to average $3,039/head, the desire and willingness to pay for accelerated herd growth continues unabated into early 2022.

Young heifers averaged higher this week through the lightest lines, with the 200-280kg lines averaging $49 higher, to $1,612/head - with a 98% clearance rate for the 934 head offered. After the sharp jump last week, the 280-330kg category fell back in line, averaging $1,889/head. Of note, the 330-400kg heifer category edged $20 higher on last week, to $2,118/head – which has opened one of the largest weekly differentials with PTIC heifers on record, at $1,192/head.

NOTE: Prices as at 2pm, Friday 14^th January 2022