Producers flock to breeder sale

Cattle producers wanting to restock and rebuild their breeding numbers had a field day at Landmark's Blue Ribbon Female Breeder Sale at the Great Southern Saleyards in Mt Barker last Tuesday.

The laneways were packed and optimism was high, as auctioneer Harry Carroll worked his way through selling more than 1000 breeders including mated and unmated heifers and mated cows in eight breeds.

Prices were red hot, with the only pen of first-cross cows offered in the sale making top price.

The pen of nine Angus/Friesian first-cross 3.5-year-old cows from Narrikup vendor Warren Forbes, trading as Dundeal Holdings, made $1820 per head, up $440 on last year's top price.

The cows were mated with an Angus bull and calves were due between February 20 and April 25.

Bow Bridge producers Ian and Viven Tippett purchased the cows as replacement breeders. The Tippetts run 230 Angus/Friesian first-cross breeders, with the calves sold as baby beef to Woolworths.

Mr Forbes also had the second top line in the sale - 10 PTIC two-year-old Angus heifers, which made $1600/head and were purchased by Barry Panizza, of Albany.

Volume buyers included Craig Power, for KD Power Pastoral Company, with 110 Angus heifers. Bidding on his behalf was Landmark Capel agent Chris Waddingham.

KD Power Pastoral Company runs about 1000 breeders and is building up numbers to include straight Angus as well as first-cross Angus/Friesians, with progeny going to Woolworths.

With many cattle offered from Warren Forbes, the sale also included a herd dispersal for Kevin Armstrong's Candyup Farms.

Mr Armstrong, who owns and operates a butcher shop, The Beef Shop in Maddington, and a quarantine facility near Harvey, said he was selling the breeding cattle to concentrate on the core business of backgrounding feeder cattle for the boning room butcher shop.

The Armstrongs averaged $1310/head for 410 cows including Angus, Murray Grey, Chargrey and Red Composites.

Last year, Mr Armstrong said Candyup sold 200 cows at the same sale for an average of $1038/head.

Across the sale, heifers averaged $1289 and cows just a dollar lower at $1288.

Landmark auctioneer Harry Carroll said it was a tremendous sale result and the quality was outstanding.