Despite border confusions, northern NSW buyers made their presence felt, online and in person, at the first Wodonga weaner sale of 2021 on Tuesday.
Interest from restocking regions and feedlots pushed prices up to average $1666 for the 1818 mixed-sex Angus weaners yarded.
Numbers were back from 3200 at the same sale last year, a trend which is expected to continue for the three remaining Wodonga weaner sales held this week, with many producers tempted to sell earlier given the high prices on offer.
However, those who resisted were rewarded with Paull and Scollard Nutrien agent Luke Deimel estimating prices were 20 to 25 cents a kilogram higher than the December store sale.
"All the vendors will be rapt, it's exceeded expectations," Mr Deimel said.
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Vendor Alan Mitchell, Bethanga, Victoria, sold his steers to a top of $1915 and agreed the prices were "hard not to smile about".
The top dollars a head price for steers was $1980, up $570 from the high of the same sale last year, while the heifer top price was $1730, $550 dearer than last year.
However, the high prices were on par with other sales on the day, with cattle attracting up to $1900 for steers and $1750 for heifers at Tuesday's weaner sale at Yea.
The weaner heifers were particularly hot across the board and Elders agent Brett Shea said at Wodonga buyers from Yass and the New England were dominant in that market.
"Obviously they are coming off the back of drought and the herd rebuilding effort which is still well underway," Mr Shea said.
Although from Monday NSW agricultural workers were able to apply for a permit to enter Victoria, it was a significantly smaller crowd at the first weaner sale with many northern NSW buyers relying on online bidding site, StockLive.
There were 467 head sold online, with 46.7 per cent of the sale bid on via StockLive. Of the 467 cattle sold online, most were heifers (378 head) with a whopping 60 per cent of the heifer yarding sold to StockLive bidders.
StockLive manage Libby Hufton said it would have been the most active sale they've ever had.
"We've created pre-sale catalogues of every sale this week," Ms Hufton said.
"So despite the confusion about what was happening with the borders, people still knew they could log on to StockLive and find out what they could buy online."
Tamworth Nutrien agent Simon Rafferty managed to come away with about three B-doubles worth of cattle for clients in his region, all keen to stock up after Tamworth received an almost record breaking 224 millimetres of rain in December.
"We only yarded about 100 cattle in Tamworth this week so there's not much to choose from there," Mr Rafferty said.
"The market here was very strong, from the (prime) markets on Monday it might have been a fraction cheaper but it was still dearer than what we wanted to pay."
Mr Rafferty, who only found out he could attend the sales on Monday after the ag worker permits were announced, said the cattle he bought would go to feedlots, to western NSW to go on grass and to the Walcha region for bullock finishing.
For full coverage of the weaner sales this week, including detailed market reports, The Land will post updates here.
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