Casino yarded 1789 head of store weaner cattle during a special Hereford sale last Friday, with steers to $2513.
The champion pen of Hereford steers was produced by Townview Partnership, a new family amalgamation comprising Jim and Jan with Jamie and Vanessa Smith, Urbenville, with their top pen at 10 months old, weighing 370.6 kilograms with no other supplement than their mothers.
They brought 678c/kg or $2513 going to Ingleside Pastoral Company which has bought country in the Casino district.
"They were the heaviest steers we have ever produced," said Mr Smith.
"The season was that good."
The Urbenville Smiths will keep all their heifers as replacements, with a portion put to Santa Gertrudis bulls.
Champion Hereford heifers, as judged by Inverell agent Robbie Bloch, went to John and Maree Smith, Woodenbong with the top two pens sold to repeat buyer, Daryl Amos, Old Bonalbo, who paid 758.2c/kg or $1895 for 250kg and will put them to Brahman bulls to produce first-cross progeny.
The Woodenbong Smiths also sold steers 10 months old at 367kg, with access to creep feed, for 702c/kg or $2498 going to repeat client Wickham Farms at Killarney. Lighter calves sold to 820c/kg.
Jim and Andrew Peterson, Old Koreelah, sold de-horned Hereford steers for 730.2c/kg for 312.4kg or $2280. The partnership sold 115 Hereford weaners sired by Anson and McPherson bulls to an average of $1935.
George, Shirley and Kelly Hardcastle, McPherson Herefords also from Old Koreelah, sold Hereford steers 332kg for 724c/kg or $2394 to Wickham Farms, Killarney, Qld.
Paul and Marian McKey, Woodenbong, sold a pen of their top July-drop Hereford steers 318kg which made $2157 going to Kellco Cattle Co at Dalby, Qld. Their entire draft of steers averaged $1934 for 259kg.
Angus progeny were included as part of the special George and Fuhrmann sale with steers with Hazeldean blood from first-calf cows to $2708.46 for 356kg at 758.2c/kg bred and produced by Peter and Libby Hannigan, Numulgi, and going onto feed.
The Hannigans sold heifers open auction for $2500 going to the Hewetson family, Mallanganee.
Top Angus heifers were produced by Gordon and Margaret Quinn, Cudgera Creek on the Tweed with young buyer Will Fraser, Roseberry Creek via Kyogle, borrowing on his life savings to purchase the two Angus heifers, 392.5kg for $2552 at 652c/kg. Mr Fraser will put them to a Brangus bull with progeny fit for purpose in the tick-prone country. "I don't mind spending what I did because they will make money," the 14-year old said.
The Quinn family also sold steers to a top of $2629 at 734c/kg for 354.2kg, for nine to ten month old calves only ever on grass and sold to KellCo agents at Dalby, Qld.
Another line of 64 Angus steers, bred like the others from the family's own bulls, weighed on average 320.2kg and sold for 742.8c/kg or $2378.24/hd going to KellCo and Bob Jamieson Agencies at Inverell.
"They weren't our heaviest calves, although it looked that way up until the end of January. And we were lucky to get them to the sale," said Gordon Quinn, explaining that landslides and bogs in the road kept cattle trapped at home until the day before the sale.
Charolais/Hereford steers, from the deluge-affected Boland and Charters families, East Coraki, sold to a top of $2541 for 389kg at 630.2c/kg despite a 10 day curfew after the unprecedented Mid-Richmond flood. The family, who usually sell weaners at George and Fuhrmann's euro-cross sale later in the month, lost 100 head in the event and will have to re-build their herd slowly.
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