The Dubbo Regional Livestock Market is hosting some of the largest cattle sales seen in the centre’s history, reaching almost 8000 head yarded at this week’s prime cattle sale.
More than 60,000 head of cattle have been yarded so far in 2018- more than a third of what was recorded for the 2016-17 financial year, putting the selling centre well on the way to maintaining top spot on Meat and Livestock Australia’s saleyard turnover report.
The continuing dry conditions across most of the state are pushing producers to offload numbers, according to local agent Justin Sanderson, Richardson and Sinclair.
“The cattle are coming from (vendors) all over the place,” Mr Sanderson said. “It is such a wide-spread dry, everyone is in unloading mode at the moment.”
Agents were forced to utilise outside yards due to a huge 8000 head of cattle being yarded in Thursday’s weekly prime sale. Photo: Angus Barlow.
A total of 7960 cattle were yarded at the yesterday’s
, most of which showed signs of the dry however good lines of finished cattle were still on offer.
Despite the dry, Mr Sanderson said there was solid support from buyers.
“Last week, there was a better range of buyers for a slightly smaller number of cattle yarded,” he said. “Southern buyers turned up which influenced the market quite well, alongside two or three extra northern orders which pushed the market along.”
“This week, with the bigger yarding, it was missing. “Overall, prices aren’t that far from the last time it was this dry.”
The market eased as much as 25 cents a kilogram compared the sale a week prior.
The yarding was made up of mostly yearlings, with numbers of vealers decreasing.
Restockers paid from 250 to 325c/kg for weaner steers and from 240 to 291c/kg for weaner heifers.
The best of the heavy vealers to processors sold up to 325c/kg while medium weight feeder steers averaged 276c/kg, reaching a high of 311c/kg.
Feeder heifers sold from 230 to 258c/kg.
Trade steers made from 254 to 293c/kg while the heifer offering reached 280c/kg.
The prime grown steers and bullocks sold from 255 to 273c/kg.
Restocking cows held firm reaching 180c/kg for PTIC cows. Medium weight cows ranged from 131 to 178c/kg while heavier, three- and four-score cows sold from 158c to 213c.
The best heavy bull reached 251c/kg.