THE Nutrien yards on Matheson Road were filled with the chatter of auctioneers and the bellow of steers and heifers last Wednesday for the Myrtleford Spring Special Sale, where prices went against the cattle market’s current downward trend.
Wade Ivone, livestock agent for Nutrien Ivone Agencies, said market conditions locally were “business as usual”, due to good weather keeping cattle quality high and demand strong.
“Compared to most of the country our season is a long way better than what most areas are receiving,” he said.
“The condition the cattle were in was very good right the way through the yard - that's probably a bit unusual at the moment.”
According to the sales report, the majority of cattle was purchased locally, including by restockers from Myrtleford, Wangaratta, Mansfield and Albury.
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Steers priced at an average of $860 per head, with a top sale of $1255, while heifers had an average price of $628, with a top price of $1050.
Mudgegonga cattle farmer Loretta Carroll sold 10 steers for $1205 per head, equalling around 250 cents per kilo – a higher figure than she expected.
She wasn’t sure what was behind the higher prices, but guessed it was partly down to the number of local buyers.
“Nutrien do a good job bringing buyers to the sale,” she said.
“I think they thought quite a few locals would be buying that’ve been holding off a bit just to see what the market does.”
Whorouly South cattle farmer Matt Beach sold 18 steers at $900 a head, and 16 heifers at $645 a head.
He estimated he could’ve received over double that amount last year, but said the sale was as good as could be expected.
“That was an amazing market at the time, which you’ve got to take with the bad market as well,” he said.
He also agreed the local weather had been a boon for farmers.
“There's definitely other parts of the country which are starting to dry off quickly, but things are looking pretty good around here,” he said.
“Next month hopefully we get enough dry weather to get some hay cut.”
Mr Ivone said the recent drop in cattle prices has been driven by lower demand for higher-quality meats and concerns over an El Nino weather system creating drought conditions.
He said in parts of New South Wales it is common for producers to sell cattle in big numbers during drier seasons.
“El Nino hasn't seemed to have affected us too much, but that's definitely not the case across Australia,” he said.
“There are areas that are very, very dry and haven't had rain for a fair while.
“That's where the selloff has been.”
