McVeigh attends first Roma sale

Dr McVeigh said it was good to hear from agents that some good prices were being achieved.

“There was a mixture of cattle and still some impressive looking cattle there, which was good to see,” he said.

“The yarding numbers were perhaps a little lower than what was predicted over the past two weeks and there was plenty of discussion about the drought.”

Roma Saleyards manager Terry Hyland said close to 6200 head of cattle had been yarded at the sale.

“It was a mixed quality yarding with a lot of drought affected cattle coming in from the far west,” he said.

Beef producer Ken Scott, Piber, 50 kilometres north of Roma, said it was good to see the Minister was trying to keep his finger on the pulse.

Mr Scott said he, like many producers, had come to the sale to see what the market was doing.

“We sold all we could last May; the weaners we offloaded then would normally be sold now at 18 months of age,” he said.

According to Meat and Livestock Australia’s National Livestock Reporting Service, lightweight yearling steers (under 330kg) sold to 195c/kg and averaged 173c. Plainer lines averaged between 149c and 156c.

Mediumweight yearling steers (330 to 400kg) to feedlot buyers reached 188c and averaged 168c and those returning to the paddock hit 184c and averaged 179c.

Heavy weight yearling steers (over 400kg) to feed hit 186c and averaged 179c.