Weekly Cattle Comments - Week ending Friday 31st May

AuctionsPlus cattle listings remained almost exactly the same as the previous week, with just a two-head difference. The Value Over Reserve jumped significantly by $28 to $95. The AuctionsPlus Young Cattle Indicator rose 16 points to 366c/kg DW, meanwhile benchmark steers 280-330kg were also up 1% to $1,109.

NSW producers offered 3,000 less head this week, but listing increases were recorded in Queensland and Victoria. There were no big movers and shakers in the purchasing breakdown, with a drop of 320 head by Queensland and increase of 408 in Victoria the largest changes.

Processor activity accounted for 6.7% of the offering.

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

Steers

Steers under 280kg experienced price drops of about $30/head compared to the previous week, however categories over 280kg recorded increases of from $16-35. 

From Armidale,  a line of 58 Angus steers, aged 7 to 10 months old and weighing 223kg, returned $1055/head, or 473c/kg lwt and will travel to a buyer in Willow Tree, NSW.

Heifers

It was all positive in the Heifer categories this week, with per head prices lifting from $5-286 and increases from 16-104c/kg. Clearance rates went as high as 80%.

From Mumbannar, SA, a line of 80 Angus heifers aged 10 to 12 months old and weighing 322kg returned $985/head, or 306c/kg lwt and will travel to a buyer in Colbinabbin, VIC.

Breeding stock

There were some improvements to breeding stock prices this week, with all categories except PTIC Heifers making significant gains. The biggest gains were recorded in the SM cows and calves category with a $493/head increase week-on-week for the 320 head offered which averaged $2,197/head.

From Khancoban, VIC, a line of 50 Angus heifers aged 21 to 22 months old and weighing 434kg returned $1800/head, or 415c/kg lwt and will travel to a buyer in Boorowa, NSW.

Note: Prices as at 2pm Friday, 31st May 2024

Table 1: AuctionsPlus National Cattle Prices

AuctionsPlus Angus Table

AuctionsPlus Queensland Table

AuctionsPlus Interactive Cattle Market Report