A drop in quality compared to previous store sales influenced only local buyers for the first November store sale at WVLX Mortlake.
Agents yarded just under 1100 of mainly female and crossbred cattle with only a smattering of pens displaying good quality.
"Quality wise, it was a fairly ordinary yarding," Nutrien Warrnambool stock agent Joel McDonald said.
He said many secondary-bred cattle were present at the sale, which had sold at only a slightly cheaper level than last month.
"I thought the better end of cattle were sold very similar to to what it had been, and I wouldn't say it was any dearer or cheaper," he said.
"Some of them, however, were a touch worse, but that was probably related to breeding and the yarding of stock."
A small of cows and calves began the sale, with the best sold being from B & D Attrill, who sold 12 Angus spring-drop cows with calves at foot for $1340 a head.
Plainer types of cows and calves sold to $520.
Mr McDonald said once they did get past that cattle, there was a lack of purebred steers with a high influence of Friesian crossbred cattle.
"It was only a small market, and there was not too much there of any quality really," he said.
A high contingent at the rails were local buyers, but an array of commission buyers, including some restockers from Mount Gambier and Gippsland, showed some interest.
Mr McDonald said it showed some confidence among buyers, but they were being wary of their purchasing.
"I wouldn't say they are jumping in spending heaps and heaps of money or chasing cattle," he said.
"There's a bit of interest with a few more potential purchasers standing and watching what is going on, and that's something we did have occurring for the last couple of months at Mortlake."
Mr McDonald said better quality cattle still was present in the region, and Mortlake's second store sale would have some "significant good lines" to be offered.
A small run of grown steers had a slight fall in price compared to a month ago, with pens selling between 175-190 cents per kilogram.
The better end of grown heifers did only slightly better than their brothers and topped at 192c/kg or $802 for a pen of four Angus grown heifers, with an average weight of 418kg from MF Finnigan.
Cunningtons Cattle topped the weaner steer section with a pen of six Angus cattle, 367kg, sold for 194c/kg or $711.
Weaner heifers, notably lighter crossbreed cattle, did break the two-dollar barrier, with SJ & AE Watson getting 222c/kg or $594 for a pen of 18 Angus/Friesian-cross heifers, with an average weight of 268kg.
A small amount of bulls were also offered, with the highest price being an Angus bull sold by Woodlawn Pastoral, 595kg, for $2000.
However, the rest of the sale did struggle to get to those highs, with lighter Friesan steers getting among the lower prices of the day at 70c/kg.
