Strong demand for limited heifers and top-line steers made cattle fetch on par prices at Bairnsdale's store sale on Friday.
One-thousand head of cattle were yarded during the fortnightly sale as 750 steers, 185 heifers and 90-odd cows and calves were offloaded by vendors.
Landmark East Gippsland livestock manager Brad Obst said he was pleased with the good yarding of cattle, despite dry conditions in the state's east.
"Heifers sold pretty firm on recent markets, steers were a shade easier but quality could have been the issue on the lower end of them," Mr Obst said.
"In the Angus steers, they ranged from about 310 [cents a kilogram] to 335 depending on weight and quality.
"I thought the secondary mixed lots were harder to offload but the smaller, secondary, lighter lots that showed a bit of breeding and were in decent pen sizes sold very well."
A small selection of heifers suitable for feedlots which weighed more than 300 kilograms were popular among two prominent buyers.
Interstate cattle numbers from southern New South Wales, including the Monaro, were down on previous sales, agents said.
Bill Wyndham & Co livestock manager Colin Jones said older cattle fetched good prices.
"There were a few pens of lighter cattle, but across the board the quality and condition of the cattle was outstanding," he said.
"The older cattle all made very good money but there wasn't a lot of weaner calves there.
"Most of the cattle were yearling to two-year-old in the steer sections and there weren't many heifers."
Mr Jones said cows and calves were harder to sell compared previous sales.
"You think if people were buying cattle they'd be buying cows and calves because they give a quicker return but the cow and calf job was probably $100 cheaper on the last fortnight," he said.
"The heifer job was about the same for the better end and once you got off the top, it was a fraction easier but there wasn't a lot of heifers there."
'Horror' season in East Gippsland
Agents said low rainfall and strong winds had dampened hopes for a good spring.
"It's been a horror of a spring actually, it's promised a lot but it's delivered little," Mr Obst said.
"I think the season looks a little better than what it did last year but the seriousness of how bad the season has been has probably been masked by the lack of numbers and it's probably making the country look better than what it is."
High winds off the Gippsland Lakes have also contributed to the issue, drying out much of the moisture from the last fortnight's rain, agents said.
"We're still very dry and in the small radius of Bairnsdale water is becoming the biggest issue with a lack of feed," Mr Jones said.
"We get two of three mill and then two or three days of wind and it dries it out."