But they were competing with commission buyers and local farmers, who were also keen to secure cattle and provided strong competition.

Agents yarded 4875 cattle, which was underpinned by a feature run of heifers and steers from Glenthompson vendor Charles and Cass Kimpton, Toora West.

The Kimptons yarded 382 Angus steers, with the heaviest pen being 77 Angus steers, 544 kilograms, which sold for 418 cents a kilogram or $2273 a head.

Mr Kimpton said his cattle turned out very well and thanked his agents for drafting them for the sale.

"To see our cattle here, it gives me a great thrill, and while we didn't expect the prices to be what they were last year, we're really happy with how they sold," he said.

"We saw many return buyers, and that means to me those buyers were happy with what they bought last year and hopefully they've made a quid out of it."

He also credited studs Rennylea Angus, Culcairn, NSW, and Banquet Angus, Mortlake, and Tasmanian stud Raff Angus which produced "great bulls" which have in turn produced good cattle for them.

Prices during Thursday's sale were firmer than a month ago at Mortlake, especially with high-quality lines of grown steers and heifers weighing over 400kg regularly passing 400c/kg.

Elders Kerr & Co agent Bruce Redpath said prominent breeders at this sale were in high demand.

"The Malanda and Toora West cattle certainly were stand-out steers and heifers here and yes, the quality yarding was a lot better than a month ago," he said.

"All of the buyers, feedlotters and locals were in attendance, with a little bit of NSW competition, and certainly buyers from the south-east of South Australia were well represented."

Malanda yarded 100 heifers, with one pen of 67 Angus grown heifers, 400kg, selling for 402c/kg or $1608, while Toora West also did well in the heifer run, selling a pen of 28 grown heifers, 470kg, for 467c/kg or $2196.

Mr Redpath said there were some mixed fortunes throughout the region with the autumn break, but good signs were ahead for those awaiting some rain.

"We could now say that an autumn break happened pretty much after the Easter weekend, and what we've had this week south of Mortlake has brought a lot of feed," he said.

"In south-east SA, they tell me feed is very good.

"North of Hamilton is very good too."

Weaner steers were also about 10-20c/kg dearer on average from a month ago, selling between 420-440c/kg for cattle between 330-400kg, while most of the run of 250-330kg cattle ranged between 430-460c/kg.

Weaner heifers averaged a little cheaper than their brothers, hovering between 360-380c/kg with Murroa East being an exception, who sold 36 grown heifers, 436c/kg, for 396c/kg or $1729.

Alanvale Farms sold 39 Angus weaner steers, 324kg, for 454c/kg or $1439.

Seabrook Agricultural sold 28 Angus weaner steers, 389kg, for 420c/kg or $1632.