The Wangaratta Blue Ribbon Heifer sale kept on trend with the sentiment of January feature weaner sales, where prices continued to soften, but vendors stayed relatively content with what they sold their cattle for.
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The sale, in where 2200 heifers were yarded, had good support from commission buyers and northern buyers.
The top price from the weaner heifers was $1935 and went to Tony and Janine Simpson, Araluen Angus, Docker, who sold 20 Angus heifers, 377kg, for $1935 a head or 513c/kg.
The couple also won best presented pen of heifers of the day.
Elders Albury stock agent Oliver Mason said many in the gallery had good support, but there were expectations that prices would keep getting softer.
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"We had a pretty significant sale only three weeks ago in in the same selling centre, so basically, we saw the market similar to what we had in that sale, perhaps a slightly softer by $30-$50," Mr Mason said.
"The vast majority of our heifers had some good support from northern buyers and also a lot of commission buyers, which is good."
He said that while feature pens at the sale continued to make good money, grown heifers stayed a bit flat and remained at feeder rates of slightly below 400c/kg.
"But once we got onto that genuine autumn dropped calves are then those rates started to pep up and I think most vendors would be happy enough with most of their cattle making 430-460c/kg," Mr Mason said.
"A lot of lighter cattle probably pushed 500c/kg, and in realistic terms, the dollars-a-head figures saw most of our cattle make from $1470 to $1600."
Many lighter Angus heifers also stayed between 420-460c/kg, or no more than $1200.
The sale had some local support in addition to the commission buyers which did drive some prices including the second pen of the day, that being a pen from Carrington of 20 Angus grown heifers, 424kg which sold for $1940 or 457c/kg.
Another good performer in terms of cents per kilogram was vendor G P D Norman, who sold 20 Angus heifers, 341kg, for $1840 or 539c/kg.
P & K Delmastro sold 17 Angus weaner heifers, 358kg, for $1820 or 508c/kg.
KJ & RL Ryder sold 23 Angus weaner heifers, 352kg for $1800 or 511c/kg.
A run of Charolais and Charolais-cross cattle featured later in the sale, with the tops of the Charolais belonging to RW & E Ackland, who sold 17 Charolais heifers, 376kg for $1640 or 436c/kg.
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