If bidders thought yesterday's Wodonga weaner sale was dear, they were in for a rude shock on Wednesday, with Day 2 of the sales seeing prices reach $2070 for Angus weaner steers and $1880 for heifers.
There was 2518 head of good quality cattle yarded in the independent agents black cattle sale, the total offering averaging $1738 a head.
Corcoran Parker agent Leigh McEvoy said it was one of the strongest markets he had ever been involved with.
"We kicked off really well with some good lines of grown, yearling type of steers, they bounced the ball and all made from 450c/kg up to 470c/kg which set the market alight for the genuine weaner run," Mr McEvoy said.
The top price for grown steers was $2180, paid for 13 Angus steers, 15 to 16 months-old, with Llandarlo blood from Mt Elliott Grazing, Corryong, Victoria.
Most genuine weaner steers sold from $1620 to $2070 on a dollars per heads basis.
Mr McEvoy said a lane and a half of good EU calves made from 480c/kg up to 510-520c/kg.
"Anything about 350kg to 420kg were making 460c/kg to 470 and 480c/kg," Mr Mr Evoy said.
"We had a lot of support from the north, middle NSW and even down into the southern areas and Victoria, along with a couple of pens heading to South Australia."
Feedlots were active, with Rangers Valley purchasing cattle for up to 540c/kg.
The top price of $2070 was paid for 20 Angus steers, 10 months, from JC and JM Maddock, Staghorn Flat, Vic. The weaned steers weighed 433kg and were Dunoon blood.
Next on the top price list was $2015, paid for six yard weaned Angus steers, eight to nine months, with Dunoon blood, from WJ Dickson and Co, Balmoral, Indigo Valley, Vic.
Veteran vendors of the sale, Dawn and Graeme Macaulay, Huon, Vic offered 88 steers and 47 heifers in total.
The tops of their Angus steers, a pen of seven, 10 to 11-months-old and weighing 431kg, made $1990, while their large run of 48 weighing an average 383kg made $1860.
Mr Macaulay said "no one should be complaining about those prices".
The largest line in the sale was a pen of 93 EU accredited Angus steers offered by JA and ST Adams, Mill Park, Staghorn Flat, Vic, which sold for $1920.
The Dunoon-blood calves were nine to 10-months-old and weighed an average 401kg.
Lightweight steers, weighing 280kg to 360kg averaged 509c/kg, up 12 cents from yesterday's sale, and topped at close to 570c/kg for steers weighing 273kg. There were few steers offered below the 260kg mark.
Heifers again sold exceptionally well, most making from $1400 to a huge high price of $1880.
Mr McEvoy said there was a lovely run of heifers on offer.
"There were particular lines of heifers which were purchased for farmers to take on and join," he said.
"They made huge money up to 530c/kg to 540c/kg, but all in all the heifer job was anywhere from 440c/kg to 470c/kg and 480c/kg."
The top price, $1880, was paid for a run of 29 seven to nine-month old Angus heifers, weighing 352kg, from Narracalca Partnership, Coolac. The pen also made one of the top prices on a cents a kilogram basis attracting 534c/kg.
The pen was purchased by Garry and Judy McNamara who travelled to the sale from Colac West in Victoria's Western District.
The couple bought 77 heifers at the sale in total, the future breeders purchased to help them transition from a dairy operation to beef.
"We're just trying to buy quality heifers and are happy to go the distance to get what we're after," Mr McNamara said.
"The quality here was about what we expected, we were mostly after heifers weighing 300kg to 400kg as we're looking to join in May."
StockLive bidders were again very active on the heifer market with online buyers from areas including Yass, Coolah, Blayney North Star and Eurobin purchasing 410 heifers in total.
Wodonga-based agencies BUR, Corcoran Parker, Peter Ruaro Livestock and Schubert Boers conducted the sale.
