Cattle
Ballarat
August 21. Yarding: 114. Change: up 38
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Numbers were up by 38 head this week with a total of 114 yarded.
In wet and cold conditions, the usual following of trade, processor, and restocker buyers operated in a firm to dearer market.
A better quality offering of beef bred cows sold to 10c/kg stronger and more in places, on last week.
Most of the young cattle went to restockers with the trade paying to 280c for heifer vealers and to 289c/kg for yearling heifers.
Grown steers sold to 284c and a heavy bullock sold at 280/kg.
Heavy cows sold from 210c to 248c, with medium weights mostly selling from 190c to 230c/kg.
Numbers were made up of 41 cows, 35 steers, 23 heifers, 15 bulls and a pen of open auction calves.
Vealer heifers sold from 258c to 280c to the trade, while restockers paid from 230c to 290c/kg for steers and heifers.
Yearling steers and heifers sold to the trade from 265c to 289c/kg.
Grown steers improved by a few cents, with medium weights selling to 284c, the heavy weights selling to 276c and a single bullock selling to 280c/kg.
Restockers paid to 272c/kg. Manufacturing dairy type steers sold to 236c, and grown heifers sold to 264c/kg to be a few cents dearer.
Heavy C muscle beef cows sold from 210c to 248c, while medium weights sold from 190c to 230c/kg.
The D muscle cows sold from 230c to 248c and lighter weights sold from 160c to 185c/kg.
Heavy beef bulls sold similar to last week, making to 272c/kg.
Hamilton
August 18. Yarding: 72
A total of 72 was penned at Hamilton in a typical winter yarding.
The sale consisted of eight bulls, 42 trade, and 22 cows and prices were five to 10 cents dearer across the board.
The best of the steers in the trade topped to $2.80 and with some restocker activity seen heifers top to $3.00 and average $2.63.
Numbers increased in the cow run with the best of the beef bred cows topping to $2.61 for 600kg plus articles, and averaging $2.40 to also be eight cents dearer.
Bulls showed a dearer trend and made to a top of $2.53 and averaged $2.49.
Colac
August 17. Yarding: 134
Numbers at Colac remained similar. Quality was mostly plain, with dairy type cows making up the bulk of the offering.
A few vealer steers and heifers were yarded, mostly selling to feeders from 290c to 341c/kg. The few grown steers sold from 272c to 288c/kg to be near firm.
Heavy D2 and D3 dairy cows sold from 180c to 220c/kg to be a few cents easier.
The lighter weights sold from 160c to 195c, with the E muscle cows mostly selling from 146c to 190c/kg. With such low numbers yarded, price comparison trends were difficult to quote.
Numbers consisted of 7 grown cattle, 59 young cattle, 58 cows and 10 bulls.
Vealer steers sold to the trade at 320c, while feeders paid from 290c to 341c/kg for steer and heifer vealers.
Medium weight grown steers sold from 272c to 288c to be around firm and a grown heifer made to 230c/kg.
Heavy D2 and D3 dairy cows sold from 180c to 220c, the heavier E muscle cows sold from 180c to 190c/kg.
Lighter D1 cows sold from 160c to 195c, and the plainer E muscle cows mostly sold from 140c to 165c/kg. Restockers paid from 144c to 190c/kg for cows.
Heavier beef bulls sold to 270c/kg to be to 10/kg easier.
Sheep and lambs
Bendigo
August 21. Yarding: 17,555. Change: up 1273. Lambs: 14,255. Change: up 2152
Lamb numbers increased again as the seasonal build-up of young lambs from the area continues.
Quality was excellent and demand for young lambs from export buyers did improve on recent weeks which lifted prices across the heavier weight categories.
Other young lambs that sold particularly well were well finished domestic types weighing around 20-21kg cwt.
Prices for the main runs of young lambs were $4 to $10/head dearer, with any plainer and lighter types mostly firm.
It was a very mixed yarding of old season lambs as tail-end drafts are sold and there were a lot of small pen lots throughout the offering.
Bidding for any well-bred and finished old lambs was stronger; however secondary types and odd lots were often discounted.
Young lambs sold to a top of $188 for a pen estimated at 27kg cwt, and it was one of six sales above $180/head.
The main runs of heavy domestic lambs, weighing 22-24kg cwt, sold from $149 to $168 to average $158/head.
On a carcase basis, a range of 600c to 670c covered most new season lambs, for market averages of 620c to 650c/kg across the main weights and grades.
Light weight young lambs with good finish made from $120 to $134, with plainer types from $72 to $115/head.
There was little to suit restockers and only a couple of pens went back to the paddock.
Heavy old season lambs sold to $182 and buyer competition for the best quality pens over 21kg did improve to push prices for these pens back above 600c/kg cwt.
However the selection of old season lambs was very mixed and they sold accordingly, with secondary types and odd pen lots of a few head discounted.
Most of the Merino lambs were plainer types which sold from $95 to $119/head to record firm to dearer prices.
Sheep: 3300. Change: down 879
Sheep numbers declined to 3300 head, but not all the usual buyers followed the market and prices fell by $7 to $20/head.
Some very large crossbred ewes sold to $150, which the best price for full wool Merino ewes was $123/head.
Most of the trade weight sheep sold from $84 to $110/head, with an average run of mutton estimated at 380c/kg cwt.
Naracoorte
August 15. Yarding: 1040. Lambs: 286. Sheep:754
Numbers more than doubled as agents yarded 1040 head consisting of 286 lambs and 754 sheep.
There was also an unusual sight of two agents not offering any lambs.
The usual field of trade and processor buyers were present and most were active on the limited offering.
The majority of the lambs were small clean up lots, while the best quality offered came in the sheep section with some excellent shorn Merino ewes coming forward.
Light weight lambs ranged from $55 to $95 and the light weight trade 2 and 3 score types ranged from $103 to $114/head.
Trade weight 3 score lambs ranged from $115 to $134 and near 570c/kg cwt with the few heavy and extra heavy types ranging from $146 to a market high of $186/head.
Hoggets ranged from $75 to $106, with the light weight ewes ranging from $45 to $66/head.
Medium weight ewes ranged from $78 to $87, with the heavy ewes ranging from $80 to a market high of $110/head.
Rams ranged from $55 to $100 with one sale to a restocker of Merino rams to $129/head.