Light-weight store cattle prices rose by as much as $120 a head in places at Ballarat on Friday as grass fever dominated the monthly store sale at the Central Victorian Livestock Exchange, agents said.
The mega market featured 4200 cattle which attracted a large buying gallery from three states, including NSW and South Australia, as well as most regions across Victoria.
Several feature consignments of weaner calves headlined the sale as restockers and bullock fatteners underpinned the market, local agents said.
Ballarat Stock Agents' Association president Sean Simpson said towards the lighter end of the sale, steers and heifers were making almost the same money on a price per head basis.
"There was very little difference and that's obviously because the better end of the heifers were attracting a breeder premium," he said.
The heavier end of the steers were quoted as firm on the previous monthly market, but as the cattle became lighter, the price difference compared to the previous sale in October increased.
Mr Simpson said steers weighing more than 540 kilograms made on average between 520-540 cents a kilogram, while trade steers between 450-520kg made between 550-600c/kg.
"When we started on the heavier steer weaners, they would have been $30-$50 a head dearer compared to last month and they were cattle weighing 380-450kg," he said.
"When you drifted back to the light end of the weaners from 320-380kg, they were $50 to $60 dearer compared to last sale and once you got below 320kg they were $100 to $120 dearer.
"A lot of those cattle would have been making 680-720c/kg."
Mr Simpson said grass fever, driven by paddocks full of feed across Victoria, contributed to the rewarding results.
"Bullock fatteners from Gippsland were active on the heavier end, along with fatteners from south-east South Australia and north-eastern Victorian agents," he said.
"There wasn't as much of the feedlotter competition, and there was a small portion of local activity but local buyers were not dominant or strong by any stretch."
A feature of the sale was a consignment of 300 mixed-sex Angus calves, nine to 10 months, offered by Mick and Dawn Ernest, trading as Cherry Mount, Streatham.
The Francs-blood steers sold to a top price of $2550, while the heifer portion sold to $2510.
The draft started with 23 steers, 418kg, which made $2550 a head or 610c/kg, then 29 steers, 383kg, made $2480 or 647c/kg, while 68 steers, 351kg, made $2400 or 683c/kg.
Twenty-three Cherry Mount heifers, 380kg, made $2340 or 615c/kg, 56 heifers, 348kg, toppled the first pen of females and fetched $2510 or 721c/kg and 37 heifers, 321kg, went under the hammer for $2310 or 719c/kg.
The lightest end of the steers sold to 731c/kg, while 31 heifers, 310kg, made $2400 or 774c/kg.
Another feature draft was offered by Fiona and John Howell, trading as St Omer Pty Ltd, Bambra, which included 132 mixed-sex Angus nine and 10-month-old calves, including 91 steers.
Forty-five of the St Omer steers, 325kg, made $2395 or 736c/kg, while 36 steers, 288kg, sold for $2270 or 788c/kg.
Account Pental Island Producers, Sunbury, sold 186 Angus and Black Baldy steers and heifers, 12 months, including 66 steers, 349kg, for $2410 or 690c/kg, and 27 steers, 303kg, for $2380 or 785c/kg.
The same vendor also sold 23 heifers, 324kg, for $2220 or 685c/kg.
Among the dearest pens on a cents a kilogram basis was PJ & JM Leech old 15 steers, 281kg, for $2260 or 815c/kg.
The same vendors also sold 17 heifers, 260kg, for $1900 or 730c/kg.
At the heavier end of the sale, Pine Lodge sold 10 steers, 751kg, for $3430 or 456c/kg.
GK & LT Orr sold 17 steers, 651kg, for $3180 or 488c/kg, while Mt Ararat sold 34 steers, 585kg, for $3100 or 529c/kg.
The Valley sold 27 steers, 555kg, for $2940 or 526c/kg and F & G Richardson & Sons sold 42 steers, 543kg, for $2950 or 543c/kg.
Laravale sold 45 steers, 472kg, for $2750 or 582c/kg, and 31 steers, 457kg, made $2660 or 582c/kg.
I & J Clark, Junction Park, sold eight Hereford steers, 571kg, for $2750 or 481c/kg.
IL & MR Barber & Son sold 15 Hereford steers, 404kg, for $1900 or 470kg, and 20 steers, 410kg, for $1900 or 463c/kg.
Black Mountain sold nine steers, 330kg, for $1930 or 584c/kg.
Mt Talbot Partnership sold 10 steers, 576kg, for $3010 or 522c/kg, while Taylor Bros sold eight steers, 543kg, for $2850 or 524c/kg.
Ashgrove sold 50 steers, 455kg, for $2600 or 571c/kg, while Riverlea sold 25 steers, 437kg, for $2560 or 585c/kg.
P, S & B Kennedy sold 11 steers, 456kg, for $2510 or 550c/kg, while Parkland Investments sold 15 steers, 415kg, for $2480 or 597c/kg.
William Bros sold 11 steers, 508kg, for $2600 or 511c/kg, while Eversly Farms sold 31 steers, 407kg, for $2470 or 606c/kg.
In the lighter steer section, Cemaitra Hold sold 11 steers, 394kg, for $2430 or 616c/kg and 13 steers, 338kg, for $2390 or 707c/kg.
PG & KM Tallent sold 23 steers, 317kg, for $2140 or 675c/kg, while R & N Liversidge sold 22 steers, 345kg, for $2440 or 707c/kg.
Kilpatrick Farm sold 11 steers, 366kg, for $2330 or 636c/kg, and 13 steers, 322kg, for $2200 or 689c/kg.
In the heifers, Daelroem Angus, Mount Mercer, sold the first and top pen of two-year-old heifers with 13, 575kg, knocked down for $2700 or 469c/kg.
Black Hill Farm sold nine heifers, 514kg, for $2360 or 459c/kg.
Gervasoni's Pty Ltd sold eight heifers, 519kg, for $2280 or 439c/kg.
Rathgeber Pastoral, Stawell, sold nine heifers, 509kg, for $2310 or 453c/kg.
C Thomas sold six heifers, 447kg, for $2260 or 505c/kg.
A Tuesner sold 11 heifers, 470kg, for $2290 or 487c/kg and 10 heifers, 414kg, for $2190 or 528c/kg.
Cemaitra Holdings sold 21 heifers, 378kg, for $2210 or 594c/kg, and 23 heifers, 341kg, for $2200 or 645c/kg.
Harrow Gem sold 24 heifers, 350kg, for $2210 or 631c/kg.
Dalrea sold 15 heifers, 342kg, for $2230 or 652c/kg.
R & J Keys sold 12 heifers, 308kg, for $2250 or 730c/kg.
E Baker sold 13 heifers, 305kg, for $1900 or 622c/kg.
A & J Russell sold 12 heifers, 281kg, for $2090 or 743c/kg.