GARY Howell has spent around 45 years working on the farm, and he said this past season has been fantastic as the wet summer has ensured good pasture for the cattle.
“It's just starting to dry a little bit now, but up until now it's been fantastic for us,” the Rosewhite farmer said.
"I’ve been on the farm all my life and it's probably one of the better seasons we've had for a fair while.”
Mr Howell will be taking 40 Angus steers to this Friday’s Weaner Cattle Sale at Mathesons Lane in Myrtleford, where hopes to receive around $1200 per head for the steers fathered by Pinnacle and Murramungee bulls.
“Just going on what markets have been around and what they've been paying, that seems to be about the going price,” he said.
Latest Stories
The Eastern States Young Cattle Indicator (EYCI) puts the average cattle price at around $1189 per head, a little down from a recent peak, but well above the steep market drop last year, which bottomed at just over $654 per head.
Like many in the alpine region Mr Howell’s 600-acre property has passed through generations, first owned by his grandfather, passed to his father and them to him – but his family wasn’t always breeding cattle.
They started in dairy, but transitioned to beef around 45 years ago and started breeding Angus cattle.
He said many of his cows are of the Alpine Angus bloodline, but he recently began breeding with different bulls to ensure healthy genetics.
Some 2200 head of cattle will go under the hammer at Friday’s Weaner Cattle Sale, set to start at 10:30am at the Nutrien Ivone Yards on the corner of Mathesons Lane an Great Alpine Road, Myrtleford.
The Elders sale will follow at 1pm at the Elders/Nutrien yards on Howells Lane.
