Prices kept firm at a well attended CVLX October Ballarat store sale, with good quality cattle throughout with local buyers keeping competitive with feedlotters.
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Steers and heavier heifers easily broke the $2000 a head barrier for most pens in a sale that yarded about 2200 cattle.
Heavier steers above 400kg were dearer from the last store sale, with prices selling from 560-600 cents per kilogram or between $2500 to $3100.
Steers between 300 and 400kg were also slightly dearer selling up to around 670c/kg and $2500 a head
Much like last month's sale, lighter cattle were in demand, with cattle under 300kg bought between the mid to higher 700c/kg range.
Elders Ballarat territory sales manager James Gadd said there was a very good outfit of cattle on hand at Ballarat and interest had grown from last month.
"I'd say [cattle] were about $200 to $250 dearer on last month ... and probably a few more cattle in the yard helped as well," he said.
"We got a few more buyers, including one bloke from up in Mildura who came back this month and the quality of the cattle was rather good considering the weather that we've had.
"That one fellow was from Mildura juror and he's got a bloke out there that feedlots a lot of cattle and so he was keen to buy a few today and prop the market up."
Mr Gadd said the Ballarat sale was largely unaffected by recent Victorian floods and while some farmers were doing it tough with dealing with the big wet, the rains gave more potential for feed growth over the spring.
"For the future, the rains always can be a good thing, for those locally here as earlier this week it was quite sunny and and quite warm," he said
"If we keep getting a few days like that, along with some rain, the grasses will spring up quite well and it'll be good feed to put cattle on to."
For vendor Shawn Tuddenham, Buninyong, Shawns Run, said there was two years of work being sold off throughout the sale.
"It's been a bit of a struggle through winter and fed out around 200 round bales to get to this point and sending in 26 of my cows throughout the sale today."
Mr Tuddenham had multiple pens of cattle on offer throughout the sale, including one pen of eight Angus steers, 302kg, sold for 767c/kg or $2310.
He said that farming was a bit of a hobby, but he has had some recent winter struggles, and felt it was time to sell some of his livestock.
"I've got land which was once my great grandfather's and I purchased it from my parents, and the place has an irrigation dam that's on the property, so we do get a lot of water through there and can be a big catchment at times," he said.
"It all runs off the foot of Mount Buninyong and through our property, so we do have running water through creeks right now of about three metres wide at most points.
"It hadn't run for six years at one stage like this, so we are at times not used to a lot of water.
"But you wouldn't do it unless you loved it and I do really love it" he said.
A T McCartney sold 27 Angus steers, 525kg, for 570c/kg or $2990 and another pen of 16 Angus steers for 567c/kg or $2820.
PH & LF Cocking sold 15 Angus steers, 532kg, for 555c/kg or $2950.
Morvan sold 28 Angus steers, 492kg, for 604c/kg or $2970.
Inverall sold 35 Hereford steers, 504kg, for 658c/kg or $3320.
KJ & LA Britt sold 19 Angus steers, 387kg, for 656c/kg or $2480 and another pen of 19 Angus steers, 347kg for 697c/kg or $2420.
Young Cattle Partnership sold 20 Red Angus steers, 341kg, for 686c/kg or $2340.
WV & HM Hodge sold 14 Angus heifers, 465kg, for 529c/kg or $2300.
Woodlands Pastoral sold 14 Charolais heifers, 433kg, for 531c/kg or $2300.
Cain Brothers sold 25 Angus heifers, 374kg, for 634c/kg or $2370 and another pen of 25 Angus heifers, 423kg, for 586c/kg or $2480.
Warbra Junction sold 10 Hereford cows with calves at foot for $3420.
