A small amount of rain was enough to show confidence from buyers at Yea this past Friday at their store sale.
Agents yarded just under 1200 cattle at a sale which was held a week earlier due to the Easter long weekend occurring on their regular store sale week.
Further rainfalls in the immediate future for the region had also brought some positivity from buyers compared to Yea's store sale held earlier in March, according to Delaney Livestock and Property auctioneer Anthony Delaney .
Mr Delaney said the smaller and lighter yarding was expected, but the market was solid with only a slight drop on prices.
"It was a substantial sale compared to result from last months and the earlier sales which stemmed from the effects of flooding and so forth," he said.
"There was a little more varied and buoyant competition locally, as there was a bit of rain about locally."
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The sale went through the a similar trend of the sale earlier in the month in terms of purchasers, with commission buyers being a big competitor in the galleries.
Mr Delaney said there was vibrant local interest throughout the sale, despite the lack of feedlotters.
"There were a lot more agents and local competition as well, and just a bit of rain about is getting things going quite a bit," he said.
Mr Delaney also said that despite there being a lot more feedlot-ready cattle yarded than the sale in early March, feedlot purchases were limited.
He also said the rain will hopefully encourage more confidence in producers and buyers locally.
The top-priced steers sold to $1770 a head, while heifers sold to $1570.
The top-priced cow and calf unit sold for $2470 for six Murray Grey cows with calves at foot.
Many Angus steers under 300kg stayed around 440-490 cents per kilogram $1200-$1300 mark, while heavier Angus steers pushing towards 400kg achieving 400-440c/kg or $1600-1700.
Angus heifers were considerably lighter, with most heifer pens under 300kg.
They earned between $1100-$1200 or 400-430c/kg.
Hereford steers did fetch more of the higher per head prices, with one pen with an average weight of 490kg selling to $1840 a head.
