Significant rainfall in the Clarence Valley delivered grass-fed results at Thursday's store sale, where steers sold to 460 cents a kilogram. The phenomenal price rise was up 200c/kg on the best bid at the last Donovan Livestock and Property sale, held just four weeks ago. A thunderstorm the night before left puddles in the grass and everywhere the summer pasture has bolted for the sky. As a result the stands were full of prospective buyers and for the first time in a long while the local fellas gave the commission blokes a real run for their money. A third of the 672 head yarding were steers 200 to 300 kg which averaged 366c/kg or $902. On November 2 that category averaged 239c/kg or $377. Heifers were not as showy, although the better lines made real money with 119 yearlings 200-300kg averaging 275.5c/kg or $666, up from 207c/kg or $550 last DLP sale. The anticipated better prices flushed out a lot of quality cattle with vendors keen to pocket some Christmas coin. Vendors of the week Joe and Liz Austen, Coombadjha, sold 36 weaned Angus calves off their softer Southgate country to a top of 428c/kg to average $1113 at 262kg with eager buyers taking them to the coastal flats and New England tablelands. Eliezer Robinson, Coramba, made the top bid of 460c/kg for Angus cross steers 226.7kg or $1043 from Mark Searles, Tullymrgan, and bettered that from another Angus vendor 326kg at 356c/kg or $1163 with the lot going to knee-deep pasture at the Tyrell's Bucca property, where they will be backgrounded for a Queensland feedlot. "We've been waiting on this sort of quality for the past three weeks but there were none around," Mr Robinson said. John Kelemec runs BMH Brangus on mostly agisted country at Nymboida and Lowanna and sold milk tooth steers from his own stud cows 342kg for 318c/kg or $1081 going back to a Queensland paddock. His heavier calves 430kg made 294c/kg or $1265 sold to the Bindaree Food Group. In the heifer section Cinnabar Station-bred Charbray heifers, 328kg, made 316c/kg or $1037, going to former dairy farmer Glenn Martin, Megan, who is making the transition to beef after 43 years of milking cows. Keen on blonde Simmentals Mr Martin said he wouldn't look back, despite best ever dairy prices. "I'm 12 months out and in that time I've had a holiday; visited my daughter at Canowindra and had a good look around for beef cattle. I'm happy." Grafton equine coach Leanne Barnier was in the market for young cattle to help train cutting horses but struggled against committed buying. In the end a better deal was struck with a local cattle trader, who offered the loan of a handful of cross-bred heifers purchased on the day to use for training in return for agistment. Of the grown steers Pat Allen, Alumy Creek, purchased the better types to $1495 for milk tooth Angus 530kg at 282c/kg and will put them in his swamp country to help recover losses made on pricey cattle when he sold them down at the start of the dry. Heavy steers were significantly dearer to average 286c/kg for 400-500kg, up from 187c/kg last sale. Baryulgil Pastoral, from a district which has only just been given the rain, sold terminal Charolais steers from first-cross Brahmman/Hereford cows, 229kg for 412c/kg or $943. Their Hereford steers 206.8kg made 354c/kg pr $732. As a gauge, milk tooth Jersey steers 355kg made 210c/kg or $745. Milk-tooth Holstein steers 355kg made 145c/kg or $515.
