Quality holds firm for first of Wangaratta blue ribbon sales

Despite a tough 2025 season, the highest quality of weaned cattle from across the region were expected to be at the top of the range as they go under the hammer this Friday. The annual Corcoran Parker grown and weaner feature cattle sale at the Wangaratta Livestock Exchange from 9am will see nearly 4000 head of cattle from leading producers in the Wangaratta area and surrounds will be up for auction . Corcoran Parker director Justin Keane said about 95 per cent of the cattle at the sale will be weaned and fit and ready to be bought into joining programs. “It has been a tight season, but the cattle have been well weaned in the spring and filled in so they will be similar weights to last year,” he said. The Ballantyne family at Howlong with their 180 angus steers will be a feature of the sale along with the Del Mastro family from Bobinawarrah (20 steers and 20 heifers) and Graeme Nichols from East Wangaratta (50 steers and 50 heifers) who will have quality lines of cattle on show. Bushfire impacts have been felt within the industry with the Wangaratta Livestock Exchange accommodating a feature Euroa sale in recent weeks, unable to be held locally due to the Longwood fire. An entire drop of 330 calves from a Thologolong property will be on offer, coming from a fire affected area near Walwa. Despite the five-to-six-month-year-old calves not being fire affected themselves, they will be sold much lighter than the farm would have hoped, impacting their returns. Mr Keane said while the clients who have been forced to sell early will see diminished returns from their 2025 drop, the industry as a whole will not be largely impacted. “At the end of the day, someone will buy them and someone will still have them in the system,” he said. Mr Keane said he expected the fair returns of around the $5/kg mark from Wangaratta’s earlier feature sales to be the market for Friday’s sale. With extreme heat forecast for Friday, Mr Keane said the sale would take place exclusively underneath the shaded roof at the livestock exchange and the cattle would be well spaced out and watered regularly in their pens. “The facility is very capable to handle the cattle, even in those conditions,” he said. “The overall health of the livestock will still very much be paramount.” The sale will precede the last of the summer feature sales for the 2026 summer season at Wangaratta with a second blue ribbon sale to see another 5000 head of quality cattle on offer on Wednesday from 9am.

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