THE south has risen again. That was the washup of the opening Western District weaner calf sales on Monday, where Victorian buyers, rather than their northern counterparts, proved the major force to be reckoned with.
A strong finish to the season in South Gippsland, in Victoria, and more affordable feed grain prices saw 70 per cent of the 6300 weaners yarded at Hamilton and Colac, Victoria, on Monday bought by Victorian feedlots and grass finishers.
Prices at calf sales so far have defied the economic gloom, with buyers agreeing that prices have not been over the top but higher than last year's rates.
Agents and saleyard operators running weaner sales over the past week were also grappling with the issue of weighing.
At Hamilton this week, like in recent years, everything is weighed and sold in cents per kilogram.
At Colac, the agents took the more cautionary line as adopted at sales centres such as Euroa, and Wodonga of weighing only the heavier lines.
Of the 194 pens offered at Colac only the first 90, or heaviest, pens were weighed.
Those pens totalling nearly 1600 head averaged 333kg.
The argument being that lighter cattle are bought on a per-head basis rather than for their weight.
But for NSW buyers such as Dave Henry of Davidson Cameron and Co, who was down from Gunnedah to buy at Colac, he would have preferred to had all the pens weighed.
Because of freight costs, Mr Henry came with price and weight limits.
The more cattle you can get on the truck at the least cost the better, which is why the two B-double loads he bought at Colac were under $600 and under 300kg.
Agents will argue that weighing takes time and effort.
At Colac the saleyard operator charges a weighing fee of a $1 a head.
Other buyers, like experienced operators Greg Darmody from Queanbeyan and Duncan Brown from Wodonga, are not fussed about the absence of weights on the lighter cattle as they will argue they are better at estimating the weights and accordingly buy with confidence.
"That's why restockers employ us, " Mr Brown said.
Peter McConachy of the Colac agency Charles Stewart & Co is one who favours weighing only the heavier cattle.
"There are arguments for and against the weighing of lighter cattle, some saleyards do it but here our primary objective is to work in the interests of the vendor," he said.
