Mortlake weaner sale grosses $16 million

Selling at the rate of $3 million an hour - $50,000 a minute - agents sold what was the largest ever penning of weaner cattle in Australia in five and a half hours.

In an extraordinary result steers sold to a top of 864c/kg and $2714 and heifers to 860c/kg and $2685 a head.

This year's results compare with the 2021 sale when 3745 cattle were yarded and the steers sold to 540c/kg and averaged 483c/kg, and heifer made to 534c/kg and averaged 473c/kg

On a per head basis prices were $500 to $600 above the previous year across steers and heifers,

Buyers attended from a wide area but the majority of cattle went to points north in NSW including Nynghan, Dubbo, Walcha, Inverell, Tamworth and Bathurst.

Support was also strong from AuctionsPlus as well as South Australia and all parts of western Victoria and Gippsland.

Nutrien auctioneer Josh McDonald, said it was as "good a line-up that you would see".

He said while buyers seemed to have a dollar price in mind, when the weights dropped buyers just kept bidding to try to secure cattle.

"Our steers sold extremely well and we were extremely pleased with how they sold, but the heifers beat all expectations," he said.

"With the consignment from Moyne Falls, the heifers averaged more than the steers, cents per kilo."

He said it was a credit to all to get all the cattle in and get it done with "while it's still light".

Bruce Redpath, Elders Mortlake, said the was demand for heifers to take home to join or to background for feeding.

There was strong demand to grow black heifers for joining to Wagyu bulls.

More than 80 per cent of the yarding went north, he said.

The heavy steers sold at rates similar to sales through the week while the lighter steers made "$7 and the very light cattle over $8", he said.

Top on a per head basis was a pen of steers sold account Rifle Ridge at $2714 for 12 weighing 429 kilograms or 632 cents a kilogram. A second pen of 22 at 416kg made 632c/kg or $2641.

Sylvandale sold a pen of 11 steers, 423kg, that made 623c/kg or $2702.

The sale top of 864c/kg was achieved for a pen of light steers sold account MA & JM Nicholson, that weighed 206kg. The same vendor had 43 at 292kg that made 768c/kg or $2243. Their top heifers were a pen o 43 at 282kg that made 700c/kg or $1977.

A feature draft was the consignment from Moyne Falls Partnership, Macarthur, that comprised 660 mixed sex weaners.

The first wing of 170 steers was taken in one sale at 686c/kg across weights from 335kg to 341kg.

Next was five pens at 718c/kg for weights averaging about 305kg.

One pen of the Moyne Fall draft comprising 28 at 275kg, made 800c/kg while three pen 267kg to 279kg, made 778c/kg. The lightest of the Moyne Falls steers at 214kgsold for 858c/kg or $1839.

Tops of the heifer portion from Moyne Falls was a draft of 33 at 221kg that made 774c/kg.

Seventy-five at an average weight of around 268kg sold for 750c/kg while 69 that weighed around 285kg sold for 720c/kg.

Athlone kicked of the sale with six pens of steers with 35 at 310kg making 696c/kg, two pens totaling 40 weighing 372kg making 650c/kg and 34 at 344kg made 656c/kg.

Bob Haworth and Vicki Jones, Correlup, Mortlake, took out the awards for best presented steers and heifers, and sold steers to 618c/kg for the pen of 36 weighing 417kg or $2577 while 45 at 371kg made 652c/kg. Lighter pens of Correlup steers made to 706c/kg or $2372 at 340kg.

Of the Correlup heifers they sold in two pens with the 25 heavier heifers at 352kg making 762c/kg or a sale topo of $2685, A pen of 25 at 321kg made 756c/kg or $2431.

Stephen and Bettina Gleeson, Tarrone View, Orford, had a top draft of steers403kg, that made 634c/kg or $2559 for a pen of 22. They also sold a pen of 70 steers, at 374kg, that made 650c/kg or $2435. On the heifer side their top pen was 24 at 313 making 698c/kg or $2188.

Brian and Christine Russell, Inglewood, Yarpturk, consigned steers that included 15 at 257kg that made 819c/kg or $2083 while their heaviest was a pen 19 at 339kg that made 682c/kg or $2313. The Inglewood heifers included 47 at 326kg that made 760c/kg, or $2477.

The Hatcher family, Swan Hill and Mortlake, sold 300 cattle that included lines of Charolais/Angus-cross steers with a best pen of 20 at 388kg selling for 602c/kg or $2335 and a lightest of 19 at 245kg that made 792c/kg. Best of the heifers was a pen of eight at 335kg that made 616c/kg or $2067. At the light end was a pen of nine at 228kg making 746c/kg.

N & J Lillie, Bostocks Creek, had a consignment that included Angus, Hereford and Hereford/Angus-cross steers and heifers with the heavy end of red steers being 24 at 379kg making 620c/kg or $2350 while a pen of 12 at 271kg made 688c/kg. They also had 21 black baldy steers at 348kg that mad 674c/kg.

Geraki Pastoral sold a pen of 40 steers, 419kg that made 618c/kg or $2594.

The heavy end of the Jindebeluc draft was a pen of 29 at 403kg that made 622c/kg or $2510. A pen of 44 at 359kg made 648c/kg or $2329 while their heifers included 31 at 301kg made 694c/kg or $2146.

The heaviest of P Murrihy's draft was a pen of eight at 410kg making 644c/kg or $2644. A second pen of 21 at 354kg made 676c/kg or $2398.