During October, there will be surge in cattle offered for sale in livestock marts across the country.

Having animals properly prepared for sale will attract greater buying interest. The greater the buying interest, the higher the sale value of animals.

There will be buyers for all types of stock, so supplying what they want will maximise the sale price of cattle.

For farmers with cattle to sell this autumn, consider previous sales with regard to what sold well and what struggled for bids.

Talk to mart managers and buyers. Use this info to have animals prepared for sale. Outlined are five tips that can help when preparing cattle for selling and maximising sale value.

Steers and bulls

In some marts, there are more buyers for bull calves than steers and vice versa, so make sure you are taking the right cattle to the right mart.

When it comes to selling bull calves, talk to mart managers and see if buyers are more active on bulls within a certain weight range, or specific breed types.

With this in mind, you may need to hold calves for an extra few weeks to increase sale weight in order to attract greater buying interest, or possibly sell animals earlier than planned.

Properly weaned calves

Marts can be a stressful place for cattle and buyers do not want the burden of health problems once weanlings arrive on a new holding.

Calves that are properly weaned are at less risk of developing pneumonia, compared to animals coming straight off the cow and presented for sale.

Forward creep-grazing over the next few weeks will break the cow and calf bond. When these calves are offered for sale, they will be less stressed and attract greater buying interest compared to animals coming straight off the cow.

Meal feeding

Having weanlings and stores eating meal will improve body condition prior to sale, as well as giving a performance boost.

Grass dry matter is low at this time of year and grass availability will be limited. Depending on cattle type, offering 2kg to 4kg/day of concentrate for four to five weeks prior to sale is worthwhile to maintain performance prior to sale and improve conformation.

Clipping cattle

Clipping cattle can improve their physical appearance. This can attract greater buying interest, as these animals are less likely to be affected by respiratory issues when housed on the next farm.

Animals do not need to be clipped excessively. Focus on the back, and if it helps, the head and top of the neck.

Clipping the tail and rear of the animal will cut down on soiling, again improving the appearance of the animal when sold.

Dehorning

Having cattle properly dehorned also improves the appearance of animals, particularly in weanlings. Tidying up horns on animals prior to sale is one less job for the purchaser.

The earlier this is carried out before selling, the better. If you do decide to dehorn cattle, make sure animals are properly anaesthetised before removal.

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