PHOTO: Topping the Mortlake market today at 435c/kg was this pen of cattle that Charles Stewart Nash McVilly sold for Riversdale, with the Angus X steers (no mark) returning $1838ph, the Angus heifer (loin) making $1705 and the Charolais X grown steer (shoulder) fetching $2149.
Mortlake agents yarded 1,762 cattle at this week’s market, a decrease of 574 on the previous week. Again the lead bullocks were very good but tailed quickly to manufacturing types. Better quality trade weights with weight and finish including some well finished grain fed were on offer. A good balance of beef and dairy bred cows were available however less heavy weight cows were penned. Not all the regular processors were present and not all operators were fully engaged. Suitable lines attracted feeder and restocker interest in an offering that consisted of 440 grown cattle along with 514 trade weights, 710 cows and 98 bulls.
The market remained firm to slightly softer in places over the grown and trade cattle with the manufacturing steers softer by 15 to 20c/kg. Heavy cows slipped 15 to 20c/kg with the medium weights back 10c and the dairy breeds generally remained firm. Heavy grown bulls were 10 to 20c/g cheaper.
Trade steers and heifers sold from 320 to 435c/kg with grown cattle topping at 388c/kg. Manufacturing steers sold up to 343c and crossbred steers to 374c/kg. Heavy beef cows sold from 300 to 336c/kg with the medium weights between 250 and 295c/kg. The better covered dairy cows were generally making between 258 and 325c/kg with grown beef bulls to 356c/kg.