EMERALD CATTLE SALE MARKET REPORT – THURSDAY 12TH DECEMBER 2024

The last combined sale for the Emerald selling center in 2024 was conducted today, yielding 1770 head. Quality, breed, condition and presentation was mixed throughout near all categories, vendor support came from most local districts combined with consignments from further afield including Nebo and Pentland.

The processing sector was short a couple of traditional key players, however there were limited numbers of stock showing good cover and for the most part prices were back around 10c off last week’s rates, it was a very similar story in the feeder classes, very few heifers to quote and a fair sample of steers were mostly back around 8 to 10c, in the weaner and yearling categories going back to the paddock, buyers remained selective with large price variances in all classes depending on buyer preferences & with one of the major veal accounts also a no show added further pressure to the results in these classes.

Bullocks were too few to quote, well finished cows and heifers in small numbers showing some weight & cover sold well, cows hit 291c the average eased 10c at 268c, heifers over 400kg darn near too few to quote gained buyer interest from feedlot and the processing sectors sold to 308c to average 286c back 25c however a lack of numbers and polish played a part in this result, medium cows with cover sold in line with that drop of around 10c, however secondary and store cows saw a more dramatic drop in price shown in the cow class 400/450kg the best peaking at 274c a pleasing result however a larger portion in store or plain condition struggled to find any great level of competition the average back 29c & bulls were mostly aged in store condition albeit buyer competition was low combining both equations saw a significant fall in the overall result with a top of 234c the average landing at 204c.

Feeder steers 400/500kg made to 384c the top price back 8c from the previous week, the overall average fell 13c at 347c, steers 350/400kg made to 388c to average 360c an improvement of 6c albeit a lift in class may have contributed to this result, steers 280/350kg sold well the best results shown from buyers heading back to grass/background to peak at 408c the average lifter 14c at 350c, heifers 350/400kg were to few to quote with a top of 319c, heifers 280/350kg in better numbers and mostly of better quality made to 329c to average 302c up 18c.

Steers 200/280kg made to 424c to average 353c up 40c on last sale which until seen on paper was a bit surprising, steers under 200kg were mostly lacking polish or didn’t quite hit the mark shown in the results with a top of 330c to average 299c, heifers under 280kg produced the largest numbers for the day those 200/280kg hit 340c albeit this was pretty much a sale out on its own, the remainder fluctuated considerably (it was at times hard to follow) the average was back 7c which does not seem a true reflection at 255c, heifers under 200kg the exact same story in this class with a top of 286c but the average took a beating to be back 55c at 194c.
There were 2 small pens of cows and calves both making $1000 per unit.

Highlights:

Duncan Investments, “Spring Creek” Clermont sold a run of Droughtmaster & Charbray X Steers to a top their 400-500kg class at 384c, the run averaged 395kg. The lead pen returning $1595.

The Fordyce Family, “Mabbin Station” Clermont sold Brangus X Steers with an average weight of 406kg, they made to 379c or $1569. They also sold Brahman cows weighing 530kg, to 279c, returning $14800