A pen of 11 Droughtmaster yearling steers was a shining light in an otherwise flat market at the Mareeba sale on Tuesday.
Returning several weeks later than normal due to the impact of the wet season, the 312-head yarding kicked off the 2023 selling year at the northern most selling complex in Queensland, with prices well below the peak of 2022 across all categories.
The big start to the wet season - some declaring it as the best the north has seen for years - has made buyers cautious, with regular local and Townsville processors dominating the buying floor and others content to watch and wait.
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Elders Agent Mark Peters said slaughter cattle sold in line with the values on offer over the hook at meat processors, while good quality lines, particularly for lighter, younger cattle, sold well.
Grazier and earthmoving contractor Russell Mahoney, who runs a breeding operation on a 65 hectare property at Jaggan, near Malanda, sold 20 head, with his pen of 11 Droughtmaster yearling steers topping the category for 460.2c/kg, at an average of 268kg, to return $1236 per head.
He said he had hoped to reach the 400c/kg mark and was happy with the result.
Jacko Shephard, Queensland Rural, said many producers used the sale to gain a better understanding of the current market, while waiting to see how the wet season will unfold.
The yard averaged 263.02c/kg, averaging $826.60/head.
Yearling heifers averaged 265.8c/kg selling to a top of 376.2c/kg, while yearling steers averaged 381.4c/kg selling to a top of 460.2c/kg.
Heifers averaged 258.4c/kg selling to a top of 278.2c/kg, while steers averaged 314.6c/kg selling to a top of 364.2c/kg.
Cows averaged 245.9c/kg to a top of 274.2c/kg.
Bulls averaged 185.5c/kg selling to a top of 266.2c/kg, while yearling bulls averaged 270.8c/kg selling to a top of 326.2c/kg.
