Horsham grazier Bruce McIntosh chose to put forward his annual draft of 92 Angus cattle at Pakenham's store sale on Thursday in an effort to target multiple buyers and strong bidding.
It was a move that he said paid off.
Mr McIntosh grazes cattle on his western district holdings near Brimpaen and Mockinya, south of Horsham.
"There are no cattle markets in Horsham anymore, so the cattle have to be trucked to saleyards," he said.
"The abattoirs are close by so all the buyers are there, there is good access to the facilities and we were told it is a good market," he said.
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It was more than a four-hour trip to the Victorian Livestock Exchange at Pakenham, so he organised the cattle to arrive at about 7pm the night before the sale to reduce their time in the yards.
Mr McIntosh said he was happy with the result and the extra effort to sell out of Pakenham.
His consignment of 92 steers, 12 months, included 17 steers, 433 kilograms, for $2600 a head or 600 cents a kilogram, 14 steers, 412kg, for $2500 or 606c/kg, and 15 steers, 359kg, for $2380 or 662c/kg.
Mr McIntosh said his operation included about 250 cows with the annual draft finished on a feedlot program before the sale at Pakenham.
While some parts of Victoria are water-logged due to recent rainfall, he said Horsham had largely missed out on the big falls.
"We are missing out on the big downpours and we seem to get six-10 millimetres when other areas of the state get 40-50mm," he said.
"It is nice and green though and the grass is starting to grow."
Mr McIntosh said he also sowed 160 hectares of grain to supplement his mixed-farming operation.
"I am definitely happy with the result," he said.