In a dramatic buying spree, the company – Australia's third-largest beef producer – has plundered southern weaner sales, buying nearly 11,000 steers over the past two months to feed-on for domestic and export beef markets.

In a turnaround in seasonal fortunes, with some rain totals above 300 millimetres since November, green grass has quickly replaced red dirt on five of the company's South Australian and Queensland stations.

And Kidman's Sedan feedlot, Tungali, is operating at its 3000-head capacity thanks to grain prices halving in the past year.

This is in stark contrast to a string of below-average rainfall years which had slashed the company's breeding herd by 20 per cent, and an empty feedlot for nearly a year.

It is not just the vendors who have benefited from Kidman's buy-up. Trans Australia Livestock, Lucindale, and Nicholls Transport, Saddleworth, have also kept busy freighting cattle up to 1400 kilometres.

Kidman livestock manager Will Abel Smith, a big bidder at Lower South East and western Victorian weaner sales, said it was one of the best starts to the season for a number of years.

* Extract from a full report in Stock Journal, January 22 issue.