Weekly Cattle Comments - 21.07.23

AuctionsPlus commercial cattle listings lifted to 8,422 head, increasing by 2%. The larger offering was met with subdued demand as clearance slipped to 56% and Value Over Reserve fell to $61. The cattle market overall continues to track sideways, with steers slipping slightly this week and heifers bouncing back. Interestingly, young steers and heifers between 200kg and 400kg have been averaging about $1,000/head for nine weeks now. The sentiment that a $1,000 weaner is too cheap to pass-up may be contributing some support at this price level.

Table 1: AuctionsPlus National Weekly Cattle Prices
Table 2: AuctionsPlus Queensland Cattle Prices
Table 3: AuctionsPlus Angus Cattle Prices
Report: Interactive Market Dashboard

Steers

Steers 200.1-280kg registered a larger offering of 1,454 head and averaged $896/head - down $23 from last week for a 67% clearance. Prices ranged from 110 - 453c and averaged 352c/kg lwt. The low of 110c/kg lwt was achieved by some Friesian steers in Victoria, while from Willow tree, NSW a line of 81 Angus/Angus steers aged 11 to 13 months old and weighing 272kg returned $1,010/head, or 371c/kg lwt and will travel to a buyer in Goondiwindi, QLD.

Steers 280.1-330kg registered a smaller offering of 1,419 head and averaged $1,064/head - down $64 from last week for a 79% clearance. Prices ranged from 281 - 395c and averaged 356c/kg lwt. From Tambo, Queensland a massive line of 260 Red Poll/Red Poll steers aged 7 to 10 months old and weighing 289kg returned $1,040/head, or 359c/kg lwt.

Heifers

Heifers 200.1-280kg registered a larger offering of 1,395 head and averaged $787/head - up $102 from last week for a 39% clearance. Prices ranged from 206 - 437c and averaged 304c/kg lwt. From Barongarook west, Victoria a line of 105 Angus/Angus heifers aged 9 to 10 months old and weighing 275kg returned $1,200/head, or 437c/kg lwt.

Heifers 280.1-330kg registered a larger offering of 858 head and averaged $1,020/head - up $168 from last week for a 68% clearance. Prices ranged from 271 - 424c and averaged 330c/kg lwt. From Durong, Queensland a line of 60 Shorthorn/Shorthorn heifers aged 9 to 11 months old and weighing 319kg returned $970/head, or 304c/kg lwt.

Breeding Stock

PTIC Heifers registered a smaller offering of 646 head and averaged $1,273/head - down $31 from last week for a 9% clearance. This is the lowest clearance for PTIC Heifers since April 2019, however, post-sale negotiations play a significant part in securing a sale for breeding lines and clearance is expected to lift to about 40-50% as it has done in previous weeks. From Dulacca, Queensland a line of 23 Speckle Park/Angus heifers aged 40 to 46 months old and weighing 482kg returned $1,310/head and will travel to a buyer in Tamworth, NSW.

PTIC Cows registered a larger offering of 435 head and averaged $1,288/head - up $31 from last week for a 54% clearance. From Scone, NSW three lines of a total 66 Angus/Angus PTIC cows aged 5, 6 and 7 years old and weighing 472 – 507kg averaged $1,506/head, $256 over the reserve.

Note: Prices as at 2pm Friday, 21st July 2023

Table 1: AuctionsPlus National Cattle Prices

Table 2: AuctionsPlus Queensland Cattle Prices

Table 3: AuctionsPlus Angus Cattle Prices

AuctionsPlus Interactive Cattle Market Report