Most cattle of all weights sell for cheaper prices at Mortlake

Agents yarded about 3840 cattle for a sale where lots of local interest drove sales.

Heavy grown steers weighing above 490 kilograms sold for between 320-370 cents a kilogram, which Southern Grampians Livestock stock agent Glenn Judd said was "disappointing".

"But that's just where the market is, and we haven't got any choice in that a lot of cattle are coming off at the moment with many feedlots being full too," Mr Judd said.

Lighter weaner steers were firmer, with many pens weighing 300-400kg selling between 400-450c/kg, while grown heifers pulled back a bit, selling anywhere between 300-390c/kg, which Mr Judd said was "consistent but back a fair bit from what they had been making".

"Weaner heifers were quite solid but stayed in the 400-450c/kg mark too," he said.

"There was a lot of plainer-type cattle here but the good-quality cattle sold with high prices."

The best-performing grown steers included a pen from S&L Robinson of 28 Angus steers, 545kg, which sold for 385c/kg or $2100 a head, while another pen of 29 grown steers from the same vendor, 506kg, also sold for 385c/kg or $1948.

G McDonald sold a pen of 11 Angus grown steers, 569kg, for 368c/kg or $2094, while Den Hills Partnership sold a pen of 24 good-quality Hereford grown steers, 575kg, for 350c/kg or $2015.

Good performers from the weaner steers included K & F McDowell, who sold a pen of 22 Angus weaner steers, 376kg, for 470c/kg or $1770.

DM Kenna sold 19 Angus-cross weaner steers, 408kg, for 426c/kg or $1742.

Brandon Pastoral sold 14 Angus grown heifers, 497kg, for 338c/kg or $1854.

K & F McDowell also did very well with their weaner heifer run, topping those cattle types with one pen of 27 Angus weaner heifers, 358kg, sold for 520c/kg or $1860.

There was a significant run of crossbred F1 heifers, which sold in a 280-320c/kg range. Crossbred steers were held up by a good run of Angus/Friesan and Hereford-cross pens with the dearest a pen from CP & BJ Buchanan of four Hereford-cross steers, 483kg, which sold for 320c/kg or $1548.

Eloise Knowles, Woolsthorpe, who sold a pen of 17 Red Angus steers, 320kg, for 424c/kg or $1349, said she was "over the moon" with her sale, despite prices being down from her last sale. "If I had made anything over 400c/kg, I would be very happy," she said.

"This time last year, I had made around 600c/kg, but I understand that that's the market, but these are still excellent prices.

"About five years ago, I was very happy with 230c/kg, so I look at prices from a long-term perspective."

Ms Knowles said she was very passionate about Red Angus and wanted to continue a family tradition of selling them.

"They are reasonably quiet, and I love to look after them too," she said.