Surge in Cattle Yardings
This week, Australia’s cattle yardings reached a notable high of 82,587, marking a 59% increase (30,639 head) compared to last week. These figures are the highest seen in saleyards since November 2019.
Significant increases were observed across major cattle states. Queensland reported an 80% rise in yardings to 29,198, while New South Wales saw a 70% increase to 35,254. In Victoria, cattle numbers rose by 26% to 10,983, and South Australian saleyards experienced a 31% increase to 4,627 head. Conversely, Western Australian yardings decreased by 7% to 2,453, a trend attributed to the state’s differing rainfall patterns compared to the eastern regions.
Notably, six saleyards more than doubled their yardings from last week:
- CQLX Gracemere increased by 187% to 3,949.
- IRLX Inverell rose by 147% to 3,046.
- Roma Store also saw a 147% increase to 8,025.
- Forbes yardings went up by 122% to 2,052.
- Mt Compass reported a 105% rise to 1,083.
Yarding figures across various categories generally increased. Restocker animals, particularly, showed a promising rise with national restocker yearling heifer yardings up by 118% from last week and 117% year-on-year.
Restocker steers increased by 74% from last week and 77% from the previous year. This surge likely reflects a growing market confidence and a positive seasonal outlook following higher-than-expected rainfall in November.
Feeder steer and heavy steer yardings rose by 78% and 27% over the week, marking a significant 95% and 174% increase from last year’s figures. Processor cows and dairy cows also saw increases of 39% and 11% week-on-week, and 81% and 15% compared to last year, respectively.
Stable Increase in Prices
Despite the surge in yardings, cattle prices across various indicators continued to rise. The national dairy cow indicator saw the largest increase, rising by 27¢ to 183¢/kg carcase weight (cwt).
Feeder steer and heavy steer prices also experienced healthy increases of 24¢ and 22¢ to 305¢/kg cwt and 256¢/kg cwt, respectively. Processor cow prices rose by 14¢ to 213¢/kg cwt.
The restocker indicators showed smaller shifts, with prices for restocker heifers increasing by 9¢ to 273¢/kg cwt, and restocker steers by 13¢ to 337¢/kg cwt.
