The market firmed at Roma on Tuesday off the back of quality lines of weaners and strong competition from restockers.
Drawn from a wide supply area, the 7375-head yarding attracted a large panel of buyers from across Queensland and interstate.
The sale included the annual weaner turnoff from the Murray family, Kindee Pastoral Company, Injune and Taroom, with 1480 mixed sex, nine-month-old, bunk-weaned weaners on offer.
Their Charolais steers topped the sale, reaching 324c/kg to make $1222/head and average $918, while Charolais heifers sold to 266c/kg to make $1235/head and average $737.
The Gall family from Glebe, Taroom, and Chinamans Bendemere, Yuleba, also offloaded a quality run of weaners, selling 1103 head of composite cattle.
Hereford-cross heifers weighing 286kg sold for 248c/kg to make $711/head, and Angus-cross steers made a top of 288c/kg, for $1441/head.
Demand from NSW buyers for quality lines of heifers saw Angus-cross heifers from Doonba Grazing Company, Meandarra, make a top of 258c/kg for $839/head, while their steers sold to 290c/kg to make $927/head.
Rod Turner, Landmark Roma, said the quality of the yarding was far better than it had been for some weeks, which caused an increase in prices across all categories.
"The main buyers were backgrounders for feedlots, and there was a few away people like Landmark at Bourke bought quite a few cattle, and Longreach, Winton and Blackall people were there buying."
Weaner steers under 220kg topped at 301c/kg and averaged 258c/kg, while steers in the 220 to 280kg range reached 301c/kg and averaged 268c/kg.
Steers weighing 280 to 350kg made a top of 324c/kg to average 279c/kg, and steers in the 350 to 400kg range reached 322c/kg, averaging 284c/kg.
Feeder steers in the 400 to 550kg range topped at 299c/kg and averaged 271c/kg.
Weaner heifers under 220kg topped at 242c/kg and averaged 201c/kg, while heifers in the 220 to 280kg range reachedt 262c/kg and averaged 228c/kg.
Heifers weighing 280 to 350kg made to a top of 268c/kg to average 236c/kg, and heifers in the 350 to 450kg range reached 268c/kg, averaging 228c/kg.
