Buyers' appetite for quality breeding females pushed in-calf heifers to $2625 a head and cows with calves to $3000 a unit at the Maitland store cattle sale on Saturday.
Bowe and Lidbury agent Michael Easey said there were 1000 head offered and the market was strong for the quality lines of pregnancy-tested-in-calf females yarded.
Weaner steers sold from $700 to $1425, but were about $30 cheaper when compared to the last store sale.
The market firmed up for yearling steers which sold from $1200 to $1680 and averaged a healthy $1400.
Grown steers ranged from $1600 to $2000 (average $1700).
Weaner heifers attracted bids from $600 to $1350 and averaged $1040, while yearling heifers sold from $1100 to $1600 ($1300 average).
A flurry of bids for PTIC heifers pushed prices from $2000 to $2625 (average $2400) which was about $100 dearer.
Joined cows sold from $1250 to $2200 and PTIC cows ranged from $1400 to $1950. The cows with calves sold from $1800 to $3000 and averaged $2400 a unit.
Tigrah, Gloucester, sold PTIC Angus heifers for $2625 to T and T Rural, while Peter Redgrove, Singleton, sold a run of Angus weaners that averaged a healthy $1425 a head.
M and T Anderson, Clarence Town, sold Hereford/Holstein cows with calves for $3000 a unit to Bill and Pat Milton of Millers Forest.
The buyers travelled from as far as Moss Vale and Tamworth to compete with strong support from the Upper Hunter and local buyers.
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