FROM the middle of October until the third week in December each year, the Mount Gambier saleyards kick into to gear, offering some of the State’s best vealers, bullocks and cows.
“Our weekly prime sales are well known for the quality of milk calves, vealers, bullocks and cull cows,” Southern Australian Livestock’s Mount Gambier livestock manager Ian Flett said.
“The monthly store sales attract quality breeder cattle from Strathalbyn to Casterton. Prime stock also comes from further afield, but local vendors from the Western District and South East dominate the market.”
In peak season, cattle yardings can reach 2400-head, while sheep numbers climb to 20,000-hd a week by Christmas.
Apart from winter months, sheep numbers are consistently about 1500-2500.
In peak times, bullock numbers reach 900, with 1200-1500 young milk vealers and grass-fed yearlings coming through the yards each week.
Following the weaner sales in January, the cull cow market reaches 700-800 head a week.
The saleyards also hold an annual feature female sale in February, with about 1500 autumn-calving, pregnancy-tested in-calf females sold.
Last Wednesday’s prime cattle and sheep sale saw lamb numbers up 1000-head on the previous week - a trend Miller Whan and John’s Peter Creek believes will continue.
Cattle numbers reached 2147-hd and 3144 sheep were yarded.
“From here on in, we’ll start to see the lamb market double in numbers each week as the drier weather becomes more consistent, favouring lamb producers in particular,” Mr Creek said.
“By mid to late November we will see about 18,000 sheep and lambs through the saleyards each week.”
Elders Mount Gambier livestock manager David Creek believes the sales will continue to be held on the one day, despite numbers climbing to peak levels.
“We have entertained the idea of splitting the sale in the past, many believe this will fragment our buyer base,” he said.
Lining the rails at both the Mount Gambier store and prime markets is a strong contingent of processor and supermarket buyers as well as commission buyers, including Teys Brothers, T&R Pastoral, Swift Australia, G & K O'Connor, Midfield Meats, MC Herd, Ralph’s Meat, Gathercole Meat and Coles.
Local trade buyers, feeders and restockers also fill the gallery, with a good turnout from the Upper South East and Western District.
Both sheep and cattle prices were slightly cheaper throughout the mixed quality yarding last week, with a few smaller, better lines making an improvement on the previous week’s prices.
At this time of the year however, SAL’s Dean Hampel says price fluctuations are not a big surprise.
“The weather is always a bit temperamental at this time of year, people are wondering whether they should sell now or hold out that little bit longer,” he said.
“As an area that typically has an earlier season to other southern regions, lambs can take that little bit extra to finish off.”
The yarding of 899 young cattle, 814 grown steers and bullocks, 351 cows and 83 bulls, sold to consistent competition from processors and a few local trade buyers.
Feeder and restocker orders also came away with some smaller lines of vealer steers, which were slightly cheaper than last week at $2 to 228 cents a kilogram liveweight, with lighter end up to 8c/kg cheaper.
Trade weight 2 to 4 score crossbred lambs sold from $102 to $134 a head, with the lighter end up $4/hd.
Heavier 3 and 4 score crossbreds made $136-$153 - $4-$8/hd cheaper on last week’s market.
Upgrades continue
In June, the Mt Gambier selling centre installed rubber matting to its cattle yards in a move to provide improved comfort for animals and increase the complex’s competitiveness as an attractive sales venue.
The matting, worth $240,000, was installed after years of trialling various rubber options.
Saleyard manager Mike Atwell said the process was challenging, but important to get right.
“It was an animal welfare issue and a lot of what we tried was not suitable, being either too hard or too slippery,” he said.
“We did not want to use sawdust either. We were watching Warrnambool closely as it had installed the same product, which proved to be very successful.”
Mr Attwell hopes the move encourages even more cattle coming to the market from further afield.
“There’s probably none like this in South Australia and hopefully it’ll encourage some more cattle from interstate,” he said.
Saleyards committee chairman Ian Flett, SAL, says next on the list is an additional new weighbridge and soft flooring for the sheep yards.
