THE weekend's forecasted rain had no impact on buyer confidence at the C.L. Squires and Company Weaner Sale at Inverell, with limited local restocker competition.
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Dry conditions forced the sale to be moved forward three weeks earlier than usual, with about 2800 head yarded on Friday, 1000 less than the 2013 sale.
Buyers came from Coonamble in the west, Texas in the north, and Bathurst and Temora in the south, along with New England restockers at Glen Innes and Tenterfield.
A pen of heavier Angus steers owned by John and Ivel Reid, "Brayleigh", Guyra, sold for the top sale price of $555 a head, to J.H. Holdings at Texas.
The Reid's steers, some of the better-conditioned cattle, sold for an average of $350.
Bundarra's Clerkness Pastoral Company sold a good line of 250 Charolais/Angus and Charolais-cross steers to a top of $550.
The steers averaged 280 kilograms, with the entire draft achieving an average price of $490.
Selling agent Scott Bremner said the market was as expected and the cattle weighed about 100kg to 120kg less than in a good year.
"In real terms, the market was quite strong with plenty of the Angus steers making from 185 to 215 cents a kilogram," Mr Bremner said.
"Crossbred cattle were a bit harder to move with reduced competition and heifers sold well considering the conditions, making 110c/kg to 150c/kg."
The weekend rain, which ranged from 20 millimetres to 70mm across the Inverell district, didn't help prices, but the market could see a slight change in coming weeks, Mr Bremner said.
"People doubted whether it was going to rain because we'd received none by Friday, so the forecasted rain for the weekend had no effect on the weaner sale, but we're expecting to see increased competition for sales to follow," he said.
"Most people are trying to sow oats to take advantage of the rain but being close to winter and frost, there's not going to be an awful lot of feed growing.
"We're still a long way from being out of trouble."