Benambra graziers Clive and Di Anderson sell Angus, Hereford calves

Close to 7000 cattle went under the hammer across five sales at Omeo, Benambra, Ensay and Hinnomunjie on Tuesday and Wednesday, with some prices falling by more than $1000 a head compared to the same sale in 2022.

Born-and-bred Benambra grazier Di Anderson said she did not expect such a hefty correction.

"I didn't think it would be back this far," she said.

"I thought we might have been back $500 at the most, but in reality it was back in some cases $1000."

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Mrs Anderson and her husband, Clive Anderson, sold 312 cattle during the Mountain Calf Sales, including 256 mixed-sex Angus calves at Omeo and 56 Herefords at Benambra.

Their Omeo Angus steer portion sold to a top price of $1740, while their Herefords fetched a top price of $1550 at Benambra.

In comparison with their 2022 results, their black cattle sold to a top price of $2430, while their Herefords fetched $2400, a correction of $690 and $850 on their top pens, respectively.

"It was a really wet year and I don't think the cattle performed as good as other years," Mrs Anderson said.

"The prices were a bit disappointing because I think it was back too far compared to last year."

The Anderson family runs a breeding herd of several-hundred females at Benambra, and said their overall average was down about $800.

Their son, Scott Anderson, said winter and spring in 2022 were the wettest seasons he had witnessed in the high country.

"It was too wet for this sort of country," he said.

"We found the cattle didn't perform as well as they had in previous years.

"Country where cattle had hills and gullies are a lot healthier, but if cattle were stuck in a wet paddock, they struggled."

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