Cattle sales will return to Charters Towers on Wednesday for the first time in 2024 with agents fielding calls from interested buyers and rainfall allowing vendors to put weight onto their cattle.
Queensland Rural Charters Towers agent Dustyn Fitzgerald said while it's "still early days", everyone was a lot more positive about the market.
"Heavier bullocks that were making 210c/kg are now making $3/kg in the space of a month or so. That's a bit of a difference," he said.
"Everyone is a lot more positive. Even our feeder market; the feedlot grids are slowly chipping away. The fellas...are buying those cattle with better money, which makes it more competitive."
Generous rainfall across the state over the Christmas period has also impacted the open to the season.
"Everyone wants more for their cattle now, but that's expected. We will probably see a few fellas maybe hold onto lighter cattle and get weight on them now that they have the option to do so," Mr Fitzgerald said.
"They'll probably hit that heavier feed market...and give everyone some breathing room.
"We're having our first sale (this week). It will be interesting to see, especially in the north, where we're sitting...It will be a good indicator of where we're at."
The sale has booked 909 head, including 299 prime cattle and 610 store cattle of which 332 are heifers, and 262 are steers.
"I imagine there will be lighter store condition weaners that get carried through. We'll see how we go," Mr Fitzgerald said.
"We've already had a couple of phone calls seeing what everyone's thinking and wanting to do, purchasing cattle-wise. No-one is in a big hurry...they'll start chopping away and moving a few.
"At least there's interest there. These feedlot fellas will start to be pretty competitive, which we've already seen."
Mr Fitzgerald said most buyer enquiries had been stemming from the south, with a few starting to trickle in from New South Wales.
Hayes & Co manager and auctioneer Peter Hayes reiterated the positive sentiments, stating that more southern Queensland markets were also on a "good trajectory" and that recent rain had resulted in an improved market.
"It's favourable. I don't know where it will end up but...there's renewed confidence. The abattoir meat works prices have risen, and the feed blocks have risen," he said.
"There's more confidence in the industry because last year, the weather bureau was saying we'd have a very bad El Nino, but that hasn't eventuated. People panicked.
"There are a lot of vendors sitting back to see what the market does...it's wait and see. In the next fortnight we will know exactly where we're going, but as an agent, I think we're going in an upward trend."
There has been plenty of demand from northern feedlots for cattle with weight.
Mr Hayes said there was a "definite increase in southern buyers".
"We've got people ringing, wanting to buy cattle. Last September, October, November, the enquiries were very slack - just locals and western buyers," he said.
According to Meat and Livestock Australia market information analyst Emily Tan, both the cattle and sheep markets were showing signs of an upswing heading into the new year.
"There is a strong outlook for the start of the year with cattle prices lifting significantly over the last couple of months," Ms Tan said in her most recent report.
"This positive trend can be attributed to the current phase where calves born in winter and early spring are being offered for sale.
"As these calves transition into yearlings, the demand for weaners has reached its peak, which correlates with the restocker yearling steer indicator lifting by 56 to 366/kg live weight (lwt) over the past month."
