ALL roads will lead to East Gippsland this week when Elders celebrates the 70th anniversary of its famed mountain calf sales.
Elders will sell 9500 weaner calves in four sales at Omeo, Ensay and Benambra tomorrow and Wednesday, March 9-10.
The top drafts will be of similar weight to last year but many vendors have enjoyed a much easier lead-up to the sales this year, he said.
"We've been consistently getting showers of 5-10mm," Elders' Omeo's David Hill said.
"We haven't had any real dry gaps in our autumn break."
The sales will kick off with the Omeo black sale at noon tomorrow when 1600 Angus and Angus-cross steers and 1300 of their heifer sisters will be on offer.
The remainder of the 3000 Hereford and Hereford-cross steers and their 2600 heifer counterparts will be sold in the following three sales at Benambra (Tuesday 3pm) Ensay (Wednesday 11am) and Omeo (Wednesday 2pm).
And while the mountain calf sales are steeped in history, this year will be the first time B-double trucks filled with cattle destined for northern Victoria, NSW and Queensland will be permitted to drive from Benambra to Corryong.
Normally, B-double trucks heading north travel the Great Alpine Highway via Mt Hotham, uncoupling their first trailer and using the second one only to ferry calves over the mountain.
But this year, VicRoads will permit four convoys of six trucks each to make the two-hour trip on an unsealed road from Benambra to Corryong, significantly cutting transport time and fuel costs.
And, given widespread rain across Victoria, NSW and Queensland has generated excellent interest, the path from the mountains north may be well-worn by the end of next week, according to Mr Hill.
"With the seasonal conditions and the amount of grass across Victoria and further north, we've had interest from far and wide," Mr Hill said.
Mr Hill said parts of the Omeo district had recorded up to 150mm of rain since the start of the year and described the autumn break as one of the best in the past 20 years.
