Branded grass-fed program underpins buy-up at Casterton

By Kim Woods

A grass-fed program supplying Coles Graze accounted for 30 per cent of the yarding at Casterton, pushing prices to $1833 for autumn drop Hereford steers.

Selling agents Elders and Nutrien Ag Solutions yarded 1160 Hereford and Hereford infused steers for the Casterton Annual Hereford and Euro Steer Weaner Sale on January 11.

Marc Greening, Injemira Beef Genetics, Book Book, NSW, sourced predominantly Injemira blood steers and rated Casterton as “great value buying”, taking home 30 per cent of the yarding to background on properties at Holbrook, Book Book and Tarcutta, in the Riverina.

Mr Greening paid 460c/kg for Injemira blood steers and 440c/kg for non-Injemira blood pens.

“The cattle aren’t mollycoddled – a lot of these cattle have been running with sheep so you can afford to pay a bit more cents per kilo as you get a lot of compensatory gain,” he said.

“These will be targeted at the domestic grass-fed market through the Coles Graze brand. It is season dependent so I’m looking to get a 290-320kg carcase with 10mm of fat as early as possible.”

Mr Greening described the market as positive and pointed to short term trends in the US.

“The fundamentals of the industry are perfect – we have a low Australian dollar, a country full of feed, the US market is rising, there is rainfall in the US and they are in a big rebuild phase at the moment. Retail meat sales are high,” he said.

“If you get involved with these grass-fed branded programs and know where your market is heading, there are certainly margins in those cattle at those prices.”

Tom Wilding-Davies, Premium Livestock Solutions, Brisbane, and Rodney Mobbs, Martins Livestock, judged the Herefords Australia champion pen, awarding the sash to Bill and Kathy Lambert, Taronga Herefords, Paschendale, for their top pen.

The pen of 20 autumn drop, Taronga blood steers weighed 349kg and sold for $1669 or 460c/kg to AuctionsPlus.

Bill Lambert keeps track of his averages each year with the figures telling liveweights have remained relatively stable while the market has fluctuated wildly.

This year the draft averaged 321kg but was back 207c/kg and $575 on the 2022 Casterton weaner sale to finish at 463c/ kg and $1489.

In 2019, the Taronga draft had averaged 319kg, 301c/kg and $963 while in 2020 when the draft averaged 329kg, 296c/ kg and $977.

By 2021, the Taronga draft was averaging 314kg, 524c/kg and $1650 and then skyrocketed to 670c/kg or $2064 in 2022 while the average weight was slightly heavier at 325kg.

The top price autumn drop Hereford steers were a pen of 18, EU accredited, March/April drop, Injemira blood steers sold by Cam and Carol Emerson, Alva Downs to Injemira Beef Genetics for $1833 or 480c/kg. This pen also topped the yarding on a cents per kilogram basis.