IF THE rates in the lead up to the mountain cattle sales are anything to go by, prices at the famed annual event are going to be red hot.

That's according to Carlo Taranto of Elders at Pakenham where light weaner steers sold to 230c/kg and light weaner heifers to 200c/kg in a yarding of 1200 head today.
 
"People are getting 175c/kg or $1000-plus again for their bullocks. It means they can pay $500 or $600 for their weaner steers with confidence,'' Mr Taranto said.
 
"The mountain cattle sales are going to be on fire.''
 
Well bred weaner steers from 280 to 330kg sold from 180c to 210c/kg while lighter steers from 240 to 280kg often returned from 220c to 230c/kg.
 
Dom & Lea Pty Ltd of Echuca sold 53 Simmental steers and heifers, seven to eight months-old, to a top of $672 for the steers and an average of $511 (or about 200c/kg) overall to be near the top of the market on both counts.
 
About 80 per cent of these returned to Echuca to be lotfed.
 
Another key vendor, M&H Johns, selling through Elders Pakenham, sold 65 Angus steers and heifers, nine to 10 months-old to a top of $574 and for an average $470.
 
Their top 25 steers,  averaged $568 or 196c/kg while their 26 leading heifers averaged $423 or 184c/kg.
 
Heavy steers also faired well, with 400kg British-blood pens making to $700 or about 175c/kg.
 
Lotfeeders and processors bid keenly against backgrounders on the pens of better conditioned heifers, winning out most of the time.
 
Younger heifers also sold well, with those from 240kg to 280kg returning 180c to 200c/kg.
 
Buyer Dennis Henderson was restricted to sourcing heifers only for feedlots at Anakie and Echuca as well as for clients to background.
 
Mr Henderson mostly paid from $440 to $450 to secure 160 heifers.

"Heifers were a little cheaper and steers firm on Ballarat last week,'' he said.
 
Rod Cameron, Rodwells, Pakenham, paid $582 to secure nine Hereford-Friesian heifers, bucked reared and 14 months-old from B Ketteringham of Labertouche, for a client to join and calve down.
 
"We were looking for heifers well enough grown to join immediately and they seem to be hard to find,'' Mr Cameron said.

"We paid a little more than we wanted - we were hoping to stop at $550 - but these are the right article and on our back door step.''
 
Also included in the sale was the dispersal of Jason and Lyn Downes' Angus herd. Their unjoined Angus heifers, 15 to 24 months-old sold to $665, their cows with September-October calves to $890 and their joined females to $825.
 
"We were really happy with the younger females, but thought the cows and calves could have made more,'' Mrs Downes said.