Pastoral heifers reach 388c/kg at Muchea

The Nutrien Livestock team penned an increased yarding from the company's first standalone store fixture at the venue for the year held last month with 1753 head of cattle offered.

Pastoral descriptions dominated the yarding with cattle descending from the Pilbara, Gascoyne, Murchison and Goldfields regions and pastoral heifers again accounting for the majority of the sale.

The sale attracted strong buying support from all sectors of the WA industry with added competition from the Eastern States to see the market strengthen, for pastoral heifers, lighter pastoral steers and lighter local beef types, with other descriptions remaining firm on the previous month's store sale.

The sale was interfaced on AuctionsPlus which continued its solid support from last month's sale, especially on the line-up of pastoral heifers.

The online platform received 981 sale catalogue views with 73 registered bidders logged into from New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and WA, resulting in 326 online bids across 69 lots, seeing 32 lots purchased online with the majority going to NSW and a few lines remaining in WA.

The sale kicked off with a moderate run of beef steers and heifers, with a solitary 710kg Shorthorn cross steer as part of the consignment from Killara Station Company, Meekatharra, topping the sale's per head values from the outset with Kevin Fowler paying $2045 at 288c/kg.

Volume vendor in the local beef section, Mosterts Dairy Pty Ltd, Keysbrook, saw its per head values reach $1699 for a single 586kg Angus cross steer which was purchased by Greg Jones for 290c/kg.

Armed with a southern order, Mr Jones collected the majority of Mostert's steers and heifers which tallied 15 lots.

Included in his purchases were two Angus cross steers averaging 516kg for $1548 at 300c/kg, the $1218 top local beef heifer price for the section's opening pen of five Angus cross heifers weighing 429kg at 284c/kg and 370c/kg for five Murray Grey heifers weighing 282kg offered by JH Martin & Co, Toodyay, to cost $1045.

Liveweight steer values reached 430c/kg for 23 Angus steers averaging 190kg, offered by Rudd Family Trust, Lancelin, knocked down to Gratte & Rogers at $819.

Dean Ryan, Central Stockcare, was among the sale's most prominent buyers, filling various orders and secured a few pens of light beef steers, paying to 422c/kg for a pen of 10 Murray Grey cross steers weighing 153kg to cost $646 from the Rudd draft.

Jamie Davies, Kalgrains, Wannamal, kicked off his buying with a couple of pens of beef steers, paying a top of $1411 at 374c/kg for nine Angus steers averaging 377kg offered by JR, LH & JJ Sweet.

A large even draft of 61 well-bred Angus heifers offered by FL & MJ Dewar, Gabbadah, topped the liveweight values at 408c/kg paid by Mr Jones for a South West grazier order to cost $942.

An increased offering of pastoral steers from last month's store sale saw prices reach $1404 for a top draft of Santa Gertrudis steers presented by RJ & HM Hose & Sons, Northampton, with Mr Jones paying 338c/kg for a pen of 10 averaging 415kg for his southern order.

Mr Ryan snapped up the next two pens of the Hose family's Santa Gertrudis steers at strong prices, paying to $1349 at 348c/kg for eight weighing 388kg.

The sale's volume vendor, Andrew Glenn Cattle Co, Paraburdoo, offered a well-presented and fully mouthed consignment of more than 400 predominately Hereford cross steers and heifers with their steer values topping at $1106 at 360c/kg paid by Great Northern Cattle Company for seven milk-tooth Hereford cross steers weighing 307kg.

Graham Brown represented a few orders at the sale and sourced a couple of pens of the Andrew Glenn steers, paying to $1095 at 354c/kg for nine Hereford cross milk-tooth steers averaging 309kg.

Mr Jones topped up his southern order with a few pens of the Andrew Glenn steers paying to $1089 at 334c/kg for 14 Hereford cross two-tooth steers, weighing 326kg and the section's equal top liveweight price of 378c/kg for 15 Hereford cross milk-tooth steers, averaging 269kg to cost $1017.

Mr Ryan continued his buying with seven pens of Andrew Glenn steers, paying to the 378c/kg equal top price for 15 Hereford cross milk-tooth steers averaging 232kg to cost $876.

Improved numbers of shipping bulls saw prices peak at $1092 for a single 390kg Brahman cross bull, one of two bulls offered by Browne Livestock Contractors Pty Ltd, Namban, knocked down to Mr Ryan for a live export order.

Mr Ryan collected a further five decent lines of young shipping bulls totalling 59 bulls in four drafts offered by Skaton Nominees, Woolibar station, Boulder, paying to $966 and 326c/kg for 12 Droughtmaster cross bulls averaging 296kg.

Liveweight bull values topped at 342c/kg for a single local type, with Mr Brown paying $876 for the 256kg Murray Grey offered by the Rudd family, while Mr Ryan paid 340c/kg and $746 for 13 Droughtmaster cross bulls averaging 219kg from Browne Livestock.

Oakville Investment Trust, Mullewa, was another larger sale vendor nominating mostly Shorthorn infused pastoral cattle in all sections of the sale.

Their bull prices topped at $912 for a single 380kg Shorthorn bull purchased by LW Bookham & Co for 240c/kg.

The sale swung to the dominant numbers of pastoral heifers where many quality drafts sold to extremely strong enquiry.

Topping this section was an outstanding draft of 48 Brahman heifers offered by the Teakle family's Oakvale stud, Northampton, with Great Northern Cattle Company winning a lengthy bidding battle to pay the $1332 top price at 382c/kg for a line of 10 heifers averaging 349kg, while they also bid 382c/kg for 10 lighter Oakvale heifers at 219kg to cost $837.

Mt Florance station, Tom Price, returned this month with another top draft of mouthed heifers that were again sought after.

Leno Vigolo, Nutrien Livestock Central Midlands, picked up several pens of pastoral heifers including Mt Florance's $1122 top price for eight Charolais cross heifers weighing 377kg at 298c/kg.

Mr Jones filled an export order with several Mt Florance heifers paying to $1010 at 270c/kg for seven Charolais cross heifers averaging 374kg.

A New South Wales buyer operating on AuctionsPlus kicked into gear and finished with 26 lots of pastoral heifers from numerous vendors drafts but predominantly from Mt Florance, Andrew Glenn and Killara, and paid the section's 388c/kg top liveweight price for nine Charolais cross milk-tooth heifers averaging 206kg from Mt Florance.

Andrew Glenn's significant run of heifers were also well-supported with Mr Jones paying the draft's $1025 top price for 12 Hereford cross milk-tooth heifers weighing 314kg at 326c/kg for his southern order, while their 336c/kg top liveweight bid went to AuctionsPlus for 13 of the same description weighing 235kg.

Mr Ryan took a liking to another strong draft of Santa Gertrudis heifers nominated by Killara station, Meekatharra, finishing with eight lots and paying to $1014 and 318c/kg for five heifers averaging 319kg.

Killara's $1044 top price was paid by Mr Fowler at 308c/kg for two heifers weighing 339kg.

Mr Ryan also paid strong liveweight values for a draft of lighter Droughtmaster heifers presented by Manberry Pastoral Co, Carnarvon, bidding to 372c/kg for 12 weighing 226kg.

The sale finished on the run of pastoral cows with Killara station topping the section for both price categories with five Shorthorn cross cows weighing 596kg purchased by Greg Neaves, Nutrien Livestock Gingin, for 268c/kg and $1597.

For the same order Mr Neaves also collected three Shorthorn cross cows weighing 495kg at $250c/kg and $1237 offered by Oakville Investment Trust.

Mr Jones snapped up a couple of pens of Killara Shorthorn cross cows paying to 262c/kg and $1423 for eight cows averaging 543kg.