With exceptionally dry conditions now engulfing a large area of Victoria and the southern Riverina, Echuca agents offered and cleared a larger than normal 1613-head yarding at their regular monthly store cattle sale on Monday.
Echuca agents’ president Tony Hoopell said their mixed quality penning found good support among an extended gallery comprising two feedlot operators, interests representing the live export trade, and a host of local operators eager to build numbers before the autumn break arrives.
Mr Hoopell said quality pens of well-bred Charolais, Angus and Hereford-cross steers and heifers were traded at better than anticipated rates of 280-310 cents per kilogram, while plainer lines were harder than normal to shift.
“It is extremely dry locally. However, those well reserved with irrigation water, hay and/or silage were coping well after two reasonably abundant years,” Mr Hoopell said.
Among the sales of better-bred cattle, a yard of Charolais steers, estimated at 420 kilograms, made $1150 per head, while a yard of nine Herefords, 360kg, also made $1150.
Topping the sale, and one of the few pens to display declared liveweight, 372kg, was a yard of 10 Hall and Watson Angus steers that returned $1170.
A pen of 25 Angus-Hereford steer calves, estimated 220kg, made $795 for C&M Cunneen, Bamawn Extension, while a yard of 17 Angus steers sold, 280kg, were passed in at $830.
In the heifer section, V Lilley sold a yard of 18 Santa Gertrudis heifers, estimated 450kg, at $1260, while a Charolais yard of 18 heifers made $1230.
Burra Murra was a vendor of Santa heifers, selling a pen of 10 to a high of $1100/head.
A large draft of 80 Charolais-cross heifers bred in the north and prepared in the local area, offered by K&V Pankhurst, Yambuna, made from $960 to $1230, and averaged around $1100.
S&C Booth sold Hereford heifers, estimated 400kg, to $1100, with a second pen sold at $980.
In the breeding cow and calf section, Angus-Hereford-Friesian cows, with Limousin calves, made $1510, sold by AH Dennis.
Angus-Friesian cows, with Angus calves, also made $1500 for Charlie Hall, Echuca.
Three drafted pens of Red Angus cows, PTIC (four months) to Red Angus bulls drew cautious interest.
Offered by AD&C Teskera, these were initially passed but sold after the auction for $925 to $1150.
