SOLID interest and strong prices was a recipe for happiness for vendors at the inaugural all breeds weaner sale at the Wangaratta Livestock Exchange, in early January.
Elders' livestock agent Oliver Mason said the penning of 2700 head drew producers and buyers from far and wide, delivering a "great result, everyone's really happy".
"It was our inaugural all breeds – so our coloured cattle – and it was the first time we've had them in our featured autumn–drop calf–selling calendar and we've got a lot of very happy vendors and I think everybody's sort of walking away very excited about the next year," he said.
"We had a fair run of grown steers which we sold in strong competition.
"We had a dearer sale on some of our feature lines of Hereford and Black Baldy cattle and then competition from north and local commission buyers.
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"Last year was certainly one out of the box so we don't like to draw too much comparison to a one–off spike like that but we're basically back to where we were in 2021...we'd be very close to averaging those sort of rates we had seen."
Mr Mason said the average weaner calf was something like $1700–$1800, "which historically is a very good price".
He said prices were strong considering it was a very, very tough winter for livestock and producers.
"We certainly didn't get a lot of performance out of them during the winter period," he said.
The sale held on Friday January 6 followed on from the Premier Angus Feature Weaner Sale held on Wednesday January 4, where 4400 head were sold, with steers topping out at $2200 per head, and the more than $8 million traded at the market.
Mr Mason said the extra sales are a great addition and the area was fortunate to have such a good store selling complex in the Wangaratta Livestock Exchange.
"We're certainly drawing cattle from a lot of areas that would have traditionally gone somewhere else – Wangaratta is certainly going from strength to strength as a well–renowned and well–recognised store selling complex," he said.
"The facilities are good, we've been fortunate enough to have the addition of 48 new selling pens so that enables us to be able to present our clients' cattle with that little bit extra room.
"I'd like to extend some thanks to all the producers who consigned their stock here for the inaugural sale.
"They took a bit of a risk but it certainly paid off for them."
