STRONG local restocker and feedlot competition pushed weaner heifer prices to $630 at Naracoorte today.
Although about 700 heifers were withdrawn from the sale in expection of lower prices, feedlots such as Charlton, Princess Royal and T&R Pastoral were underpinned by district restockers to set prices within a range of mostly 143c/kg to 168c/kg on the Angus and Angus cross yarding of 1701.
PPH&S clients Trevor and Angela Wardell from Naracoorte scored the top price for the agency with a pen of 19 Angus weighing in at 360kg, bringing them out at 161c/kg.
Avenue Range producers TH and SC Rivett sold 45 Angus heifers for up to $595 and RE Hughes from Lucindale sold 12 382kg Angus heifers for $590..
The Lucindale operation WV James and Son sold 25 345 kg Angus heifers for $555 and the run of 177 averaged $507.
This compared to an average of $494 for James heifers at an earlier Mt Gambier sale, and a 2012 average of $679 with last year's tops making $725.
"It wasn't too bad considering the market.
"We can't feed them -- we've kept what we want and we have to sell the rest," Weny James-Ross said.
Sothern Australian Livestock general manager Bruce Redpath said most of the yarding made 150c/kg-plus and the main feedlots bought about half the yarding mostly weighing 320kg-plus.
"We've bucked the trend a bit because of the local competition.
"The strong local competition put a floor in it."
A line 104 Pitlochry Station Angus cross heifers with an average liveweight of 260kg sold for $406 or 156c/kg and made up to 168c/kg.
Straven's 300kg Poll Hereford heifers sold for an average of $430 or 143c/kg.
