PRICES reached a top of $750 for Hereford steers at Hamilton today as the market continued to favour the top lines of calves with weight.
The price was for John and Liz Craig's top pen of 20 Inverell-bred Hereford steers which weighed 401kg and sold for 187c/kg.
Only a few dollars behind was the sale opening line of Charolais-cross steers from Carneydell, they averaged 421kg and sold for 177c/kg to Gippsland.
Today's sale set a new liveweight price high for the Western Districts when the Glanleam Limousin steers sold from 216-219c/kg. The calves, mostly B-muscle and ideal to feed for the specialist domestic market, were lighter with pen lots weighing 300kg, 28kg and 349kg to realise from $537 to $654 a head.
Like most of the better sales recorded the price for the Glanleam's was pushed along by repeat buyers.
Once on to the general run of steer calves prices mostly stayed in the 175-185c/kg range for 300-350kg calves which matched earlier sales at the centre.
Light and plain Hereford steers however continued to sell poorly at less than 160c/kg at times, or down to $400 a head.
