Cattle kicks off strong

NUMBERS on offer at the first cattle sale of 2022 were the highest seen at a Mareeba Saleyards opener for many years.

By Sally Turley

This top price pen of quiet, store heifers sold for 652.2c/kg to farmer Carlo Fassio of Mareeba.

A full gallery of vendors, buyers and spectators who, turned up to check if last year’s euphoric market was sustainable, were not disappointed.

New saleyard records were set for bullocks and cows last Tuesday and the entire yarding of 414 head of bulls, cows, heifers and steers, including 13 cows and calves, returned an average price of 497.03c/kg or $1,593.08/ head.

In comparison, the final sale of 2021 averaged 520.83c/kg and $1342.99/hd across a much larger yarding of 1726 cattle.

The Eastern Young Cattle Indicator, sitting at a record high of 1147.28 in December fell slightly to 1119.07 last week.

A total of 60,182 head of cattle went through the Mareeba yards last year and records for their highest grossing sale of all time were broken a total of four times, peaking in September with 2648 head and $2,557,104 worth of cattle sold.

New operators at the Mareeba selling complex, Principal/ Director of Prophurst Pty Ltd, Bram Pollock (pictured) and his partner Ian Bradford made an impression with their information boards stating the HGP status, dentition, vendor and origin of the pens of stock they auctioned. Formerly operating around the Cloncurry, Julia Creek, Normanton Mr Pollock the pair are now based on the Tablelands and servicing their western clients by aircraft. By providing extra information to buyers, they hope to give them more clarity and a better understanding of what they are buying.

Cattle on offer in the final sale of 2021 sold for almost double the values received by vendors at last year's record-breaking opening sale.

Prices continued climbing and records continued being broken throughout the year, with the market failing to fi nd a limit.

Livestock Agent and Auctioneer at Elders Mareeba branch manager Mark Peters said the market had only moved forward since Christmas, making the sale a good start for the year.

“The world demand for protein, combined with the good season being experienced by many southern producers and the northern and central processors’ desire to keep operating all points to a solid year ahead for cattle producers,” he said.

Records set late last year were being re-broken with a draft of 39 steers in the 400+ kg weight range selling to a new high of 462.2c/kg to average 380 to 412c/kg. In the 300 - 400kg cow category, a new record of 442.2c/ kg produced a top price of $1547.70 for a 350kg cow.

In the fat section, a lone bullock weighing over 750kg sold for 412.2c/ kg to return $3,132.72. A small draft of 600-750kg steers averaged $2610 per head, while the 400-600kg steers averaged $2351.35/hd.

A draft of 71 store steers sold to a top of 702.2c/kg to average 512 cents, while 49 yearling heifers sold to a top of 652.2c/kg to average a very healthy 549c/kg and 46 heifers weighing up to 500kg topped at 576.2 cents to average 440.6c/kg.

Cows and calves sold to a top of $2300/hd. In recent developments, Luke and Leanne Quaid have been appointed as the new 2021 saleyard contractors and Prophurst Pty Ltd's, Bram Pollock and Ian Bradford – “the two guys in brown” – have joined the mix as livestock salesmen at the weekly Mareeba sale.