THE Roma store market continued to gain ground this week with strong competition between feedlots and local restockers pushing prices for steers over 400kg to a top of 176c/kg.
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Several feeder steer buyers, who haven’t attended recent Roma sales, re-entered the market this week, just in time to go head to head with local restockers with oats crops ready to feed.
Vendors and agents will be hoping the positive market trend seen at recent Roma sales continues for the first Roma store sale of the new financial year next Tuesday.
The sale will include the much anticipated annual offering of 1700 Kindee Pastoral Company weaners and 800 Angus weaners from the Shaw family’s Injune based operation, JS Grazing.
Last year, the Kindee weaner steers topped 241c/kg to return an average of $727/head while the heifers averaged 206c/$589.
Meanwhile, at their July 2012 sale, the Shaw family sold 296kg Angus-cross steers for an average of 234c/$695. The Shaws also sold 270 Angus heifers to a top of 212c/$580.
While both lines aren’t expected to nudge their 2012 sale results, selling agent, Brad Neven, Watkins and Co, said the Kindee and Shaw cattle would still attract a solid premium.
“Every year, other vendors try and sell at the same store sale in the hope that the extra buyers will help boost their prices but they quickly learn that most of these buyers come to operate solely on the Kindee and Shaw cattle because they have bought them before and want them again,” he said.
“There will be 2800 of the best quality weaners in the industry on sale and they will sell themselves.”
Kindee principal, Ian Murray, believes this year’s weaners could be among the best he has bred.
“We introduced Weebollabolla Shorthorn bulls to the herd three years ago and those calves look magnificent,” he said.
Kindee Pastoral Company joins about 2400 crossbred cows annually on Cowangah, 30km west of Taroom and Muya, 40km west of Injune.
The crossbred cows are joined to Santa Gertrudis, Charolais, Hereford and Shorthorn bulls and weaners are sold straight off their mothers through the Roma Saleyards at less than 10 months of age.
Mr Murray said the introduction of Charolais genetics in 2001 followed by Weebollabolla Shorthorn genetics three years ago, combined with ongoing pasture development, had contributed to a significant increase in average weaning weights for the Kindee steers.
“From 1995 to 2005 our average weaning weight was about 280kg,” Mr Murray said.
“Since then we’ve put a great deal of emphasis on our bull selection and done a lot of work on our country and we’ve been able to lift the average weaning weight for the steers by 60kg so, that for the past five years, the steers have averaged 348kg.”
