Stock Report: May 22

By Stuart Sheldrake

There were 1,346 cattle yarded at the Scone cattle sale yesterday in a market that saw god cattle remain firm, but plainer cattle getting very hard and light weaners.

A good number of cows and a lot of younger cows unfortunately due to the season.

The best of the cows made $1.86 to go back to the paddock and the best kill cows were $1.80.

The best of the finished calves made about $3.12 and we’re seeing very few of those and cattle with weight are also being sourced however were are starting to see more plain cattle about.

There are no avenues to go, when we were in trouble there earlier in January and February we were selling a lot of calves and we were yarding 3,000 of those sort of numbers. The New England was good, Victoria was good and also into Queensland, we had avenues but it’s all drier so it’s only Victoria which has received a bit of rain in the last couple of weeks. So those avenues for those store cattle have dried up and the market has come off.

We’ve seen the market has probably come off 40 percent and a bit more in places. Plain cows are making anywhere from 40 cents to 100 cents, but there six months ago they were making a couple of dollars easily. A lot of people sold their weaners in January and February and when were were trading a lot of cows they were the older cows going and over the last five or six months people have been trying to feed their younger cows and obviously the decision has been made to sell.

Feed is getting harder to course and water is an issue as well, so they have no choice but to sell those younger breeders.

And now the market is not there. People are selling off in such a low market and if it turns around and we get rain you’ve got to buy back into a dearer market.

I sold good young four year old Angus cows there yesterday for $700 to calve in a month or two, twelve months ago they were making $1,600 to $2,200.  A lot of herds are only at 50 percent and the big decision now is feeding them, because hay prices have gone through the roof and it’s hard to buy hay in New South Wales. There is a lot of hay being sourced from Victoria, South Australia and Queensland.

Grain is going to be an issue too, because I don’t think there is going to be a significant grain crop this year. I was talking to one farmer who is sourcing grain and it is costing him $500 a tonne to get it landed here from Geelong.

It is tough times, but we can’t control the weather.