Unjoined heifers were in demand at Leongatha's annual F1 heifer sale.
Agents yarded 1616 head of heifers with calves at foot, joined heifers, cows with calves at foot and unjoined heifers.
Alex Scott & Staff livestock agent Dane Perczyk said repeat vendors, several who presented annual drafts, provided strong support for the sale.
"Some sales, I felt, sold a little bit above expectations, other sales were a bit below, but overall pretty consistent on where you would have thought the price should have been," Mr Perczyk said.
Most of the cattle went back to Gippsland.
He said Mokoan Livestock Agency, Benalla, appeared to be the only agent from out of the local area operating at the sale.
"I have two or three vendors now that purely line their heifers up for this sale," he said.
"They are calving them down, and doing the hard work, so they can maximise the return on them.
"We had three or four good pens of joined heifers, that made $3100-3250 [a head], whereas heifers with three-month-old Limousin calves at foot were making $3200-$3600 - probably $300-$400 above the good springer price."
He said there was a lot of competition and frequent bidding on the unjoined heifers.
"They made good cents a kilogram - not everyone wants to buy heifers or calves, or calve cattle down," he said.
SEJ livestock agent Mario Arestia said the stock presented very well.
"The vealer job has taken off in the last 18 months and chopper cows are making a bit of money too, so it's all worked out well," he said.
"There's a few extra head here today than last year, there are a few more dairy farmers rejoining back to beef bulls, so there were a few extra numbers."
L & L Hornby, Monomeith, sold 11x11 heifers, with two-three-month-old Heatherdale Limousin calves at foot, for $3500.
They also sold 12x12 heifers with calves at foot for $3400.
Willawa Grazing, Foster, sold its annual draft of Angus/Friesian heifers and calves.
They sold 11x12 heifers, by McIndoe and Hazelwood Angus bulls, with Uluwatu-blood Limousin calves at foot, for $3400, and 10x10 for $3600.
Their third pen, 9x9 heifers with calves at foot, sold for $4240.
BS Cantwell, Stony Creek, sold 13x13 heifers, 2.5 years, with calves at foot, for $3560, and a second pen of 12x12 for $3425.
JP O'Loughlin, Berry's Creek, sold 15x15 Angus/Friesian-cross heifers, pregnancy-tested-in-calf to a Limousin bull, for $3740.
C L Brooks, Inverloch, sold 10 heifers, PTIC to an apricot Limousin bull, for $3275.
G Hoskin, Mirboo, sold 12 McIndoe-blood Angus/Friesian-cross heifers, PTIC to a Limousin bull, for $3040.
Burrabardoo, Tarwin, sold 20 Angus/Friesian unjoined heifers, 382kg, for $2160 or 565c/kg.
Their seconds, 20 unjoined heifers, 345kg, sold for $1880 or 544c/kg, while a third pen of 11, 330kg, sold for $1600 or 484c/kg.
Andrew Miller
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
