EMERALD CATTLE SALE MARKET REPORT – THURSDAY 3RD OCTOBER 2024
Numbers near halved to 1525 head for this week’s Emerald combined sale.
Quality, presentation, and condition was again mixed, with that said I think it would be fair to say the yarding overall was an improvement from last week’s sale.
There were no real stand out lines with numbers shared across most classes, which may have had some effect on the results in various categories.
All regular processors were present however there was only a limited supply of well finished article, it was a similar story in the feeder section & whilst there was some additional support from buyers going back to grass, buyers were selective.
This resulted in some pens selling above previous results, whilst other sales would have been well below expectation.
A small sample of Bullocks over 550kg sold fully firm the best making 342c, well finished cows numbers remain limited the best making to about 280c, those over 500kg the average eased 14c @ 265c, medium cows eased 20c however many were of store condition which will have added to the down would pressure, heifers over 400kg numbers improved but the average eased 11c however the top of 309c was on par with last week, bulls over 600kg without livex support, still sold well to peak at 273c the average dropping 5c.
A very small offering of genuine in the slot feeder steers 400/500kg peaked at 358c with the average easing just 6c which given varying factors was a pleasing result, steers 350/400kg were too few to quote, steers 280/350kg in mostly smaller mixed lots made to 350c however, they didn’t have to be far off the pace and the price eased considerably to see the average ease 31c @ 286c, heifers 350/400kg in fair numbers, but buyers weren’t willing to chase the market & there was a mix in quality seeing the average ease 36c with a top of 309c, heifers 280/350kg numbers dropped considerably compared to last sale and once again, there was a fair mix in quality and presentation.
The best made to 274c the average back 13c @ 252c.
Steers under 280kg mostly in smaller pen lots and of weaned store condition saw additional buyer competition to buck the trend the average lifted 14c & 28c with a top of 340c, heifers 200/280kg struggled to find the same level of buyer interest to peak at 250c the average eased 13c @ 217c, heifers under 200kg the bulk of the additional numbers in this weight class would have come from one larger consignment which helped boost the average by 37c peaking at 234c to average 207c.
| CATEGORY | WEIGHT RANGE | HEAD | MIN c/kg | MAX c/kg | AVG c/kg |
| STEERS | Under 200kg | 73 | 136 | 336 | 311 |
| 200 – 280kg | 113 | 80 | 340 | 309 | |
| 280 – 350kg | 117 | 150 | 350 | 286 | |
| 350 – 400kg | 19 | 208 | 324 | 294 | |
| 400 -500kg | 70 | 239 | 358 | 325 | |
| BULLOCKS | 500-550kg | 44 | 274 | 332 | 316 |
| 550+ | 50 | 281 | 342 | 333 | |
| HEIFERS | Under 200kg | 148 | 50 | 234 | 207 |
| 200 – 280kg | 141 | 50 | 250 | 217 | |
| 280 – 350kg | 108 | 180 | 274 | 252 | |
| 350 – 400kg | 114 | 198 | 309 | 267 | |
| Over 400kg | 112 | 250 | 309 | 288 | |
| COWS | 300-400kgs | 108 | 48 | 270 | 209 |
| 400 – 450kg | 43 | 40 | 289 | 220 | |
| 450-520kgs | 110 | 160 | 280 | 244 | |
| Over 520kgs | 66 | 228 | 275 | 265 | |
| BULLS | Up to 450kg | 59 | 158 | 260 | 205 |
| 450-600kg | 6 | 250 | 259 | 257 | |
| Over 600kg | 22 | 174 | 273 | 255 | |
| COWS & CALVES | – | – | – | – | |
| PTIC | – | – | – | – |