Strong demand from an export order as well as local grass fatteners and feedlotters helped the combined Euro blue ribbon weaner sale and store sale sell at steady to firm rates.
Vendors were spooked by concerns over stock water to go with dwindling feed supplies and concerns over the fires with some selling earlier than normal, while some also retained heifers on the expectation that demand for breeders would climb when the season broke.
Grown steers sold generally from 287-318 cents a kilogram or $1010-$1350 a head.
The weighed weaner steers sold from 280-331c/kg, or $880-$1260.
Unweighed steers sold well, generally in a range of $550-$765.
Heifer weaners generally sold in a range from 250-277c/kg, while unweighed heifers sold extremely well to make $500-$740.
Buyers came from across north-east and central Victoria as well as an order from Cootamundra, NSW.
The sale's first run featured grown steers that included a large draft of Angus from Nankervis Nominees, Corryong, who were forced to sell these steers after feed was burnt out by the recent fires.
The steers weighed between 372-405kg, with many on the cusp of making feedlot entry weights.
The consignment topped at $1250 or 318c/kg on weights of 393kg.
The same vendor had a pen of 27 Black Baldy steers, 382kg, that made $1010, or 264c/kg, and 21 Herefords, 372kg, that made $1010 or 271c/kg.
A pen of 10 grown Angus steers sold by A Ross weighed 484kg and maed $1350 or 278c/kg.
Best of the steer weaners on a per head basis was a line of 17 sold by Colin Joyce, Burnview Angus, Euroa.
These weighed 398kg and sold for $1260 or 316c/kg.
On a carcase basis, top was a pen of 21 sold by Castle Coombe, that weighed 356kg and sold for $1180, or 331c/kg.
The vendor also had a pen of nine steers, 333kg, that made $980 or 294c/kg.
Marnong at Mickleham, consigned a draft of 9-10 month-old steers that sold to $1085, or 326c/kg on weights of 332kg.
The same vendor had a pen of 23, 293kg, that sold for $950 or 324c/kg.
G & V Williams, Euroa, had a draft that included 18 steers, 8-9 months, that weighed 363kg and sold for $1150 or 317c/kg.
Selling for $920 was a pen of 17 steers, 290kg, sold by Stribbling & Phelan, Flat Rock, Euroa, that made $920 or 317c/kg.
Innesfail had 17 at 290kg that sold for $920 or 317c/kg, while Inglebar Wool Press sold a line of 20, at 377kg, for $880, or 317c/kg.
The Gooram Springs consignment included a pen of 23 steers, weighing 264kg, that sold for $860 or 325c/kg.
A pen of nine Charolais steers sold by Glenfyne sold for $1010 or 255c/kg, on a weight of 396kg.
The Ponkeen draft of Simmental-cross steers, 9-10 months, from Tarcombe, sold to $900 or 274c/kg on weights of 328kg.
In the heifer section, Gunbar had a pen of 11 Angus, 450kg, that sold for $1090 or 253c/kg.
Marnong's heifers sold for $950 or 265c/kg for a pen of 12 that weighed 358kg.
A second made $775 or 269c/kg for a pen of 29 that weighed 288kg.
Chintin Park also received $950 or 259c/kg for its heifers that weighed 366kg.
Inglebar sold 77 heifers in two lines with to 277c/kg or $880 for a pen of 34, at 317kg, and 269c/kg or $780 for a pen of 43 that weighed 282kg.
