The traditional New Year Victorian weaner cattle sales have kicked off today (Friday) at Wodonga. Buyers from the north, from greener NSW and Queensland, and from SA are expected to ramp up competition.
This Wodonga sale is just the start of the huge run of south-east weaner sales, which will be worth about $40 million to Victorian cattlemen by the end of this month, based on current values.
Brad Newsome, Landmark Glen Innes, NSW, said the season in the north means producers are well positioned to take advantage of the southern sales, to find quality lines of British-bred stock.
“It just depends a bit on the weights when freight is factored in,” he said.
He said generally, buyers would shy away from the heavier calves, instead going into battle for the lighter types ideally between 220 and 280 kilograms.
If the calves tip the scales too heavily, he said some people might decide to wait for the NSW weaner sales later in the year.
A quick freight calculation for the cost of northern NSW-bound calves is about $55 to $70 a head or 16 to 22 cents a kilogram (liveweight), plus one or two feed and resting stops.
But wherever the buyers come from, the vendors have been working hard to offer them the highest quality.
Victorian vendors, Frank and Jeanette McCormack, “Muskerry”, Bullioh, will offer another top quality line of Hereford steers.
The line of 25 head offered by the McCormack family will be about 10 months old and Mrs McCormack estimated they would weigh about 330kg on sale day.
“The season has been a little better this year and the cattle have not had the setbacks that some of our weaners have had in recent years,” she said.
The family’s steers regularly top the Hereford section of the first Wodonga sale in January.
Mrs McCormack said this was a reflection of the quality bloodlines they used and the fact buyers seemed to appreciate the value in calves which had already been weaned before sale day.
“The calves seem to do much better (if they are weaned),” she said.
Victorian cow-calf producers during January will sell 70,000 steer and heifer weaners.
On current values, about $40 million will flow into producers’ bank accounts during January.
Local restockers and interstate backgrounders will be there in numbers to buy, competing with bidders from the north and from SA.
These sales come on top of the 30,000 calves that have already been sold at big annual sales in Victoria's north-east and at Naracoorte, SA, in December.
Recent end-of-year weaner sales at Euroa, Yea, Vic, and Naracoorte, SA, have already set a benchmark of 200c/kg for 320kg steers.
Whether these prices go higher is anyone's guess - and buyers will start to see the new year trend from today onwards.
But with that rain in the north and strong demand a feature at the January sales, there is every likelihood prices will push higher.
Stephen Paull at Paull and Scollard, Wodonga, Vic, says nearly all the calves at these sales are bred and held specially.
He says following a run of poor seasons in Victoria's north-east and Riverina, the cow herd is depleted and he doubts there will be many calves for sale after January.
Mr Paull agrees that, with cheaper grain for feedlot rations and a scarcity of supply of cattle, prices should move higher.
Elders Andrew Gunn, Hamilton, says just under 29,000 calves will be sold by all agents at Hamilton and Casterton, Vic, alone between January 5 and 22.
The Wodonga Annual Weaner and Grown Steer sale, which has become a feature sale of the north-east, will this year take on a new format.
Renowned throughout the country for its quality and large yardings, in a facility capable of meeting both vendors' and buyers' presentation requirements, the sale will this year be held over two days - Thursday January 8 and Friday, January 9, starting at 10.30am both days.
Schedule for the weaner sales is:
January 2 Wodonga 4000
January 5 Hamilton 3000
Colac 3000
January 6 Hamilton 3700
Colac 2000
January 7 Hamilton 2000
January 8 Hamilton 2600
Wodonga 5000
Naracoorte 3500
January 9 Casterton 3300
Wodonga 3000
January 14 Hamilton 2900
Kyneton 1000
January 15 Hamilton 3700
Mansfield 1500
Yea 3000
Naracoorte 2000
Euroa 2000
Warrnambool 2500
January 19 Casterton 2400
January 22 Casterton 2000
January 23 Mt Gambier 3000
January 30 Naracoorte 4500
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