Leongatha's fortnightly store market marked time, with agents saying it was pleasing to see it hadn't dipped any further.
Agents yarded about 3000 head of cattle.
They said the market was no worse, or better than previous sales.
SEJ Leongatha livestock agent James Kyle said the market remained firm.
"It still hasn't gone any lower - it still takes an almighty sort of a steer to make $1800-1900, that's for sure," Mr Kyle said.
"There was a good selection of grown cattle and also vendor-bred steer weaners, I think they all probably held fully firm on three weeks ago.
"Like everything, the secondary cattle and dairy crosses were the hardest to sell - in saying that, they all found homes and we ended up with a result."
The heifer job was "a little bit up and down - it takes a pretty good heifer to make $1100-1200 in the store pens," he said.
"Some older, vendor-bred, black heifers, 427kg, went out to $1200.
"Some lighter weight heifers, back to 300-odd kg, properly bred, sold from anywhere from $800-900.
"All those little heifers were going back to the paddocks as backgrounders, possibly future breeders later in the year."
Mr Kyle said it was a very mixed yarding, in which everything sold to expectations.
The sale reflected prices at other centres.
Nutrien livestock agent Brian McCormack said better bred cattle sold quite well
"The better lines of calves made towards 400 cents a kilogram, your 450-530 kilogram feeder steers sold for between 350-360c/kg," he said.
"Once you got onto your bits and pieces, they were the cattle that were tough enough."
Better lines of heifers sold for 270-280c/kg, he said.
"As you got back on the plainer ones, it dropped off from there."
The regular feedlots, O'Connors, Teys Charlton, J&F and Keswick, as well as Westside Meats, were joined at the rail by Melbourne commission buyer Campbell Ross.
Feedlots were also to the fore at Pakenham, the day before.
Local agents were buying cattle to go back to the paddock, he said.
"It's patchy here, south Gippsland and south of the yards are very, very wet but Traralgon, Sale and Bairnsdale want rain," Mr McCormack said.
"It's settled until we see what the season is going to do - it's the unknown, we need to get more cattle killed, at the top end, and people will start to trade again."
Elders Leongatha branch manager Rohan McCrae said he felt Friday was fully firm on the last sale.
"Our market, in general, mirrored the previous sale - it didn't give any ground, but probably didn't gain any," Mr McRae
"In the current conditions, that's all we could have hoped for, really.
"It didn't lose any ground, which we were happy about.
"There was a little bit of grazier competition, we had been very wet, we were lucky the previous week we had sun and wind, which dried everything out and made everybody feel a bit better about themselves.
"June was too wet for south Gippsland, to be honest."
Heifers were "tough enough but where no worse than a light steer result."
Hartay Family Trust, Dalyston, sold 20 Angus steers, 544kg, for $1900, or 349c/kg.
Hartay's pen of 16 steers, 533kg, also sold for $1900 or 356c/kg while a third pen of 20, av 503kg, sold for $1750 or 347c/kg.
Tom and Lynne Butcher, Allenby, sold 17 steers, 501kg, for $1880 or 375c/kg.
Coulthard Angus, Calrossie, sold 26 Angus steer weaners, 347kg, for $1340 or 386c/kg.
Glenfinnan Nominees, Mardan, sold 22 Angus steers, 325kg, for $1350 or 415c/kg and another 20, 290kg, for $1200 or 413c/kg.
Thimms Hotel, Calignee, sold 21 Angus steers, 520kg, for $1890 or 363c/kg.
Alexander and Nicholson sold 14 Angus steers, 688kg, for $1890 or 283c/kg.
R Hopkins sold 14 Angus steers, 621kg, for $1990 or 320c/kg.
J Wood sold 17 Angus steers, 582kg, for $1930 or 331c/kg.
Homebush Pastoral sold 15 Angus steers, 510kg, for $1810 or 355c/kg.
P Harris and T Pratt, Berrys Creek, sold 13 Angus steers, 505kg, for $1760 or 348c/kg.
D Bates, Munro sold 24 Millah Murrah Quixote Q96-blood steers, 366kg, for $1440 or 393c/kg; they also sold 45, av 343kg, for $1380 or 402c/kg.
A third pen of 24, av 327kg, sold for $1310 or 400c/kg.
Main Creek Farm sold nine Angus steers, 628kg, for $1940 or 308c/kg.
Kiama Farms sold 15 Angus steers, 505kg, for $1830 or 362c/kg.
A second pen of 15, 467kg, sold for $1680 or 3.59c/kg.
Allan Agriculture sold 15 Pinora-blood Angus steers, 452kg, for $1700 or 3.76c/kg.
R and C Jackson sold 14 Angus steers, 387kg, for $1410 or 364c/kg.
Beilharz sold nine Charolais steers, 401kg, for $1340 or 334c/kg.
D Scott sold 11 Angus steers, 355kg, for $1320 or 371c/kg.
D Shandley sold 15 Angus steers, 349kg, for $1350 or 386c/kg.
Calulu Capers sold 15 Banquet, Lawson and Ashwood-blood steers, 302kg, for $1150 or 380c/kg.
They also sold 10 Charolais-cross steers, 294kg, for $980 or 333c/kg.
P Fleming sold 19 Angus steers, 369kg, for $1350 or 363c/kg.
AW and CM O'Mara sold 21 Angus steers, 352kg, for $1350 or 357c/kg.
Allen Agriculture sold 15 Angus heifers, 389kg, for $1130 or 290c/kg.
D&K Scott sold 13 Angus heifers, 356kg, for $1000 or 280c/kg.
Cululu Capers sold 13 Angus heifers, 268kg, for $700 or 261c/kg.
G Moon sold three Hereford heifers, 438kg, for $1250 or 285c/kg.
Bulleondurra sold three Hereford heifers, 461kg, for $1250 or 271c/kg.
Bulleondurra also sold 16 Angus heifers, 461kg, for $1200 or 288c/kg.
M and A Shields sold 10 Angus and Black Baldy heifers, 418kg, for $1170 or 279c/kg.
L Missen sold four Angus heifers, 451kg, for $1260 or 279c/kg.
Northside Pastoral sold 11 Angus heifers, 360kg, for $1140 or 316c/kg.
S and V Missen sold nine by nine Angus cows and calves for $2100
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.
