CATTLE: Numbers were down slightly this week, with Inverell agents yarding 782 head of cattle. There was a good penning of cows and the yarding of young cattle consisted mainly of yearlings with both steers and heifers well represented. Quality was good with several runs of outstanding well-bred and conditioned yearlings that were suitable for feeder buyers, however there was a few pens of plainer quality cattle through the sale this week. Competition was stronger again this week with extra buyers entering the market. As a result of the increased competition feeder steers were 10c to 15c dearer selling from 382c to a top price of 459c while re-stockers paid up to 508c/kg. Feeder heifers made the greatest gain to sell from 20c to 30c dearer, ranging from 380c to 446c/kg for light feeders. The few trade heifers topped at 426c/kg. Angus heifers 425kg $4.00kg , 375kg Angus heifers $4.25kg, 200-240kg plainer heifers $4.90. The yarding of export cattle consisted of a small offering of grown steers, while there was a fair penning of heifers and a good yarding of cows. Quality was good with the largest percentage of heifers and cows being heavy high yielding cattle. The odd grown steer sold to a top of 393c to be up by 10c, while heifers gained from 10c to 20c selling from 320c to 385c/kg. The cow market saw medium weights average 299c while heavy cows were 11c dearer selling to 327c/kg. There was another good offering of heavy bulls with a top price of 348c/kg.