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Calf-buying fever hits
14 Jan 2004
"Mad calf disease" has hit the cattle world. It's a condition that doesn't hit the calves, however - but the buyers, causing nodding, winking and raising of limbs. The disease was most evident at sales in the north-east of Victoria last week, especially at Wodonga, Alexander and Yea. One pen of weaners made $700 on the first day of a three-day fixture; by day three, 21 pens of calves fetched $700 or more.
Some potential buyers left early when they saw signs of the disease spreading, fearful of a pain in their pockets. But others caught the fever and paid up to 240c/kg liveweight for the 12,000 calves on offer.
The disease didn't hit the Western District as badly, where prices were good for the 14,000 calves were good but not mad.
Experts aren't sure whether the condition will reappear this week, when another lot of weaners come on the market, but vendors are probably hoping it will spread across the state.
Weekly Times, 14/1/04, page 2.
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