Well bred pregnancy-tested-in-calf heifers have passed $3000 a head at the first of Ballarat's February sales.
Langi Kal Kal, Wimmera Downs and Eurambeen East were among the producers receiving the highest prices
Agents yarded 1833 head of cows and heifers in calf and cows and heifers with calves-at-foot.
PTIC heifers sold to a top of $3200, while cows with calves-at-foot reached $3600/hd.
Unjoined heifers made up to $2720/hd, while PTIC cows topped at $2640.
Most of the yarding went back to local agents, as restockers sought to replace cattle they had sold.
Other buyers came from Bendigo, Gippsland and Kyneton.
In the other Victorian sale, at Yea, cattle cracked 400c/kg as two volume buyers purchased 65pc of the yarding.
Nutrien Ballarat livestock manager Xavier Shanahan said buyers were happy to pay for the top-end of the well-bred heifers.
"Usually what happens here is there is a pretty big difference between the front and fourth lane," Mr Shanahan said.
The 2-year old heifers did not have the body weight and calved later, so "you can come back off the money pretty quickly," he said.
"Confidence in the whole cattle industry has changed massively in the last four or five weeks and things are moving quickly - for the better."
He said while there had been no sale at Ballarat since December, but in comparison to the early January Victorian weaner sales the market had moved up by $300-500/head.
TB White Ballarat auctioneer Tom Madden said extra rainfall in the last six weeks, particularly in the western districts, had contributed to the lift in the market.
"It's on the back of people wanting to buy more cattle and the prime market and everything else lifting since Christmas," Mr Madden said.
The $3200/hd still represented good buying - "there were a lot of very good heifers here, which sold for $2500-2900/hd, there were only a few sales over $3000.
"Prices dropped back on the 2-year old heifers, but those bigger front end cattle stood up really well, they presented really well and sold really well," he said.
Elders Ballarat auctioneer James Gadd said a lot of the "big money" was made by feature lines, which were presented every year and sought by repeat buyers.
"There was competition from new buyers, trying to buy into those too, and I think that's what really drove those higher prices, for those front-end cattle,"
"The cattle after that looked a bit tougher to sell, but I think they were in and around expectations."
Wimmera Downs sold 14 Toora West-bred Banquet-blood PTIC heifers for $2800/hd and 20 for $2550.
Langi Kal Kal sold its first pen of 12 PTIC heifers, AI'd to Millah Murrah N266, followed by a Langi Kal Kal bull, for $3020, followed by the sale high price of $3200/hd, for a pen of 12 and $2840/hd for a pen of five.
Golden Grove sold 24 PTIC heifers, Carngham Station bred and joined to a low-birthweight Langi Kal Kal bull for $3060.
Eurabeen East sold 20 Toora West-bred heifers, PTIC to a Banquet bull, for $2250/hd.
Grigg Farms sold 15 Merridale-blood heifers, PTIC to a LBW Francs Angus bull, for $2720.
AS Taylor sold 9 Langi Kal Kal and Pathfinder blood heifers, PTIC to LBW Banquet and Millah Murrah bulls, for $2250 and a pen of five for $2840.
FA and GJ Richardson sold 16 Franc, Langi Kal Kal and Laughlin Park-blood heifers, PTIC to Franc and Braeside Park LBW bulls, for $2150.
Rosevale Ridge sold 30 Toora West and Weeran-blood heifers, PTIC to Bowmont-blood bulls, for $1900.
WV and HM Hodge sold 14 heifers, PTIC to a Waterlilly LBW-bull for $1700/hd.
Carngham Station sold 12 second calvers, PTIC to a Landfall bull, for $2640/hd.
Carahill sold eight by eight Banquet and Boonaroo-blood heifers, PTIC and Anvil-blood bull, for $3000.
Rosevale Ridge sold 12 by 12 Barwidgee-blood cows, PTIC to a Bowmont-blood bull, for $2460.
Watgania Pastoral sold 50 x 52 cows with Yarram Park-blood CAF for $2550.
Longview Ag sold 14 x 14 Landfall and Dysart-blood heifers, AI'd to Wattletop and Booramooka-blood bulls, for $2400.
LW Norman sold six x six Angus second-calving Langi Kal Kal-blood cows, with spring drop Langi Kal Kal-blood CAF, for $3600.
C Johnson sold nine x nine second-calving Te Mania-blood cows, with July 2023-drop Te Mania-blood CAF, for $3200 and a further seven x seven for $2950.
Mallee Pine sold 24 Bushy Park-blood fifth-calving cows, with four-month old Banquet-blood calves at foot, for $2700