Latest Cattle Market Update: Trends and Insights

In the latest report from AuctionsPlus, cattle listings saw a decline of 6% to 14,092 head, with clearance rates inching up to 72%. This week, interstate purchasing increased to 23% of total sales, marking a 3% rise from the previous week.

Market Performance Overview

The steer market exhibited signs of improvement, particularly in the mediumweight categories. However, heavy feeder weights suffered a significant downturn. Notably, breeding female categories experienced considerable price reductions.

Regionally, listings were diverse. New South Wales led with 6,698 head available, although this represented a drop of 801 or 11%. Queensland listings were up 16% to 5,452, while Victoria saw a reduction to 1,729.

Purchasing Trends

Buyers from Queensland secured 4,997 head, reflecting a robust increase of 22%, while purchasing activities in New South Wales softened to 3,591 head. Victoria maintained stable activity levels.

Steer Offers and Prices

Steers in the 200-280kg category attracted 2,788 head, which experienced a price rise of 10c/kg to average 478c, with a clearance rate of 79%. Steers weighing 280-330kg also saw a minor lift of 9c, averaging 436c and clearing 72% of nearly 2,500 offered.

In the 330-400kg segment, 1,665 head were offered with an impressive clearance of 89%, witnessing a price increase of 22c to average 437c. In contrast, feeder-weight steers over 400kg saw a significant decline, dropping 51c/kg on average to settle at 414c with a 99% clearance from a lower offering of 623 head.

Part of an offering of 205 Certified Organic Ultrablack steers 331kg at 9-24 months from Blackall, Western Qld that made 459c/kg or $1520 on Friday.

Heifers and Breeding Females

Heifer prices presented a mixed outlook across weight classes. The 280-330kg category gained 25c/kg to average 366c, achieving a clearance of 75% from an offering of 777 head. In contrast, the 330-400kg segment remained steady at 415c/kg but only cleared 26% of a very small offering.

Lighter heifers weighing 200-280kg experienced a slight decline of 8c/kg, averaging 370c with a clearance of 69% on 1,715 head offered.

Breeding Female Market Conditions

The breeding female market faced significant price checks last week, especially in categories with larger volumes. PTIC (Pregnant Tested In Calf) cows plummeted by $409 per head, averaging at $1,290, with a clearance rate of 82% on 1,111 head. PTIC heifers also decreased significantly, down by $268 per head to average $1,642, clearing only 27% of the 653 offered.

Interestingly, small catalog offerings of station-mated cows and calves, as well as heifers and calves, saw price increases—cows rising by $152 to average $2,061 and heifers gaining $23 to reach $2,004.

From Guyra, NSW, 17 Angus cows aged three years, averaging 526kg, were sold for $2,250 per head, equating to 428c/kg, to a buyer near Graman, NSW.

Source: AuctionsPlus