JOINED first-cross ewes sold to $290 at last week's special store sheep sale at Wycheproof.

The yarding of almost 4900 sheep was dominated by unjoined first-cross ewes.

The 12 pens of unjoined first-cross ewes made $148-$252 and two pens of joined first-cross ewes fetched $152 and $290.

A single pen of joined Merino ewes sold for $198 and the sole pen of Merino ewes with crossbred lambs fetched $192.

Unjoined Merino ewes made $144-$168 and 895 of the 1148 Merino wethers sold for $80-$130.

A client of Elders Hamilton paid the day's top price of $290 for a pen of 190 joined Border Leicester-Merino July-August 2009-drop ewes, August shorn and carrying White Suffolk-cross lambs, from Bushy Lodge.

Elders Wycheproof manager Jim Coffey said quality was good overall, especially in the first-cross ewes.

Mr Coffey acknowledged prices, which were about $30 dearer than at the July sale, had reached "scary numbers".

"But I think anyone buying replacement ewes here today has probably got their suckers gone, their old ewes ready to go and the changeover price is pretty reasonable, really," Mr Coffey said.

"I thought it was a really strong sale, it kicked into gear right from pen one on the first-cross ewes.

"All our young ewes sold exceptionally well and I think that's proof that people (realise) there aren't many of these first-cross ewes ahead of them. They're all trying to get in and buy as early as they can before the spring."

Mr Coffey said the number of sheep available for sale was well down on previous years.

"There's 5000 sheep here in August," he said.

"This should be the start of the first of our spring sales and we should have 15,000 or 16,000 sheep in a normal year.

"We worked hard to get 5000 sheep in. We really did.

"We did lose a couple of pens because of the rain, but they'll come in next month."

Midfield Meats paid $80 for 399 September-October 2009-drop, Merryville blood, July shorn wethers from Donnybrook, and a pen of 253 June-July 2009-drop, Mt Ascot blood, August shorn, was passed in at $93.

Buyers came from Ballarat, Bendigo, Boort, Donald, Euroa, Hamilton, Mortlake, Narraport, Ouyen, Rainbow, Sedgewick, St Arnaud, Stawell, Swan Hill and Wycheproof.

The next Elders sale at Wycheproof is scheduled for September 24.