Weekly Cattle Comments - Week ending Friday 12th April

AuctionsPlus commercial cattle offerings doubled to 16,456 head compared to last week's 8,492. Clearance dropped to 48% from 77%, although there was a $20 rise in average Value Over Reserve to $123 per head. Benchmark steers 280-330kg stayed flat at $1,170, while the AuctionsPlus Young Cattle Indicator fell two points.

NSW was the biggest contributor to the market, more than doubling their offering to 9,254 head to account for 56% of the overall head listed. NSW was also the largest purchaser, even with a 6% drop in purchases on last week. Queensland buyers were again active, buying 50% more stock than last week.

It was another quiet week for processors, taking less than 2% of stock offered.

Table 1: AuctionsPlus National Weekly Cattle Prices
Report: Interactive Market Dashboard

Steers

Steer prices were mixed with the 200-280kg category losing $20/head on last week and the values in 280-330 and 330-400kg categories rising $10 and $54/head respectively.

The 0-200kg and 400kg+ categories recorded no change with limited numbers offered.

Steers 200-280kg more than doubled in offering to 2,387 head and averaged $1,003/head — down $20 from last week for a 62% clearance. Prices ranged from 247 - 454c and averaged 396c/kg lwt.

From Maclagan, QLD a line of 30 Charbray Steers aged 6 to 8 months and weighing 240kg returned $1090/head, or 454c/kg lwt and will travel to a buyer in Mount Emlyn, QLD.

Steers 280-330kg jumped 85% to 2,387 head and averaged $1,163/head - up $10 from last week for a 46% clearance. Prices ranged from 326 - 429c and averaged 381c/kg lwt.

From Walcha,  a line of 250 Angus steers aged 9 to 10 months and weighing 305kg returned $1310/head, or 429c/kg lwt and will remain locally.

Heifers

A healthy price rise for Heifers 330-400kg was the highlight for females this week. A 37% larger offering of 719 head saw an average of $1,220/head — up $141 from last week. Clearance was a strong 87% with prices ranging from 306 - 366c and averaged 336c/kg lwt.

From Holbrook, NSW a line of 85 Angus Heifers aged 18 to 20 months and weighing 339kg returned $1240/head, or 366c/kg lwt and will travel to a buyer in Albury, NSW.

Heifers 200-280kg doubled its offering to to 1,899 head but this was not met with the same enthusiasm. Prices dropped $54 from last week to average $752/head, with clearance a mixed 51%. Prices ranged from 204 - 355c and averaged 303c/kg lwt.

From Bombala,  a line of 72 Angus Heifers aged 6 to 8 months and weighing 273kg returned $970/head, or 355c/kg lwt and will travel to a buyer in Cooma, NSW.

Breeding stock

Breeding stock came onto the platform in big numbers compared to previous weeks. There was a five-fold increase in Station Mated (SM) heifers, a quadrupling in SM cows and calves and an eight-fold increase in SM heifers and calves. Across those categories however, clearance was a disappointing 30%.

The bigger lines of breeding stock were in Preg Tested In Calf (PTIC) Heifers and PTIC Cows, which saw 1,127 head and 1,772 head respectively.

PTIC Heifers averaged $1,776/head — up $130 from last week but achieved just 33% clearance.

PTIC Cows averaged $1,876/head - up $70 from last week for a 43% clearance.

SM Cows enjoyed a $1,034/head price gain on last week to average $2,206/head - although clearance was also a tepid 25%.

Note: Prices as at 2pm Friday, 12th April 2024

Table 1: AuctionsPlus National Cattle Prices

AuctionsPlus Angus Table

AuctionsPlus Queensland Table

AuctionsPlus Interactive Cattle Market Report