Gunnedah Saleyards Weekly Update

File image: Selling action at the Gunnedah Saleyards.

Market Overview

Yarding: 1420 head  Change: -570 head

After a two-week hiatus, Gunnedah saw a reduction in cattle penning by 570 head, with a total of 1420 mostly good quality cattle presented at the saleyards. Regular backgrounders and feeders were onsite, competing in a significantly dearer market along with exporters, who were particularly aggressive in their bidding for cows.

Cattle Trends

Drafts of weaner steers experienced a notable price increase, peaking at 502c/kg. Heifer prices followed suit, influenced by restockers, who gained 29c/kg with sales ranging from 290c to 406c/kg.

Yearling steers under 280 kgs saw a rise of 30c/kg, selling between 325c to 450c/kg. Similar trends were observed for feeder steers under 330 kgs, reaching up to 450c/kg. Medium weight feeder steers experienced a modest gain of 7c/kg, while corresponding drafts of heifers for feed rose by up to 26c/kg, hitting prices between 340c to 390c/kg.

Heavy feeder steers also showed significant gains, with prices ranging from 304c to 425c/kg. However, a drop in quality resulted in light background heifers losing 21c/kg, now priced between 280c to 373c/kg. On the other hand, heavier drafts saw a price rise of 13c/kg, reaching 376c/kg, and medium weight heifers for backgrounding showed strength, rising by up to 26c/kg.

Heavy feeders improved by 16c/kg, while grown heifers destined for processing increased by 27c/kg and feeder prices ranged from 280c to 320c/kg. All cow prices trended upwards: three score cows gained 33c/kg and four score drafts increased by 23c/kg, with heavy bulls selling between 275c to 310c/kg.

Source: Stephen Adams, MLA