SOARING prices at the region's saleyards are providing just rewards for local farmers recovering from drought.
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Recent rainfall and a high demand for top-quality products have caused competition for restocker cattle and cows with calves at foot to heat up.
McCulloch Agencies stock agent Mitchell Swain said the "all-time high" prices were causing farmers to look to bring in more stock.
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"There is still a lot of demand for both light cattle, cows and calves on a restocker market," Mr Swain said.
"Which is being driven by the prices the farmers are getting out of it at the other end.
"There at an all-time high and markets look to be very strong for a long time yet.
"On all fronts, the cattle market has been fantastic."
Mr Swain said the quality of the region's products was a major contributor to the high demand for stock.
"At the moment, our numbers are quite low but the demand is so high," he said.
"Australia has premium products in both the cattle and sheep markets, which attracts a premium price.
"In my opinion, we should be demanding a premium price because we have premium products."
The strong demand for cattle has risen despite the state's total herd number continuing to drop after it reached a 45-year low in 2019.
"I think we are seeing numbers come back right now," Mr Swain said.
"I know there's a lot of cattle going onto winter crops and that sort of stuff.
"So the back end of this year we'll see a lot of heavy cattle come off crops, but as far as the short term goes, the numbers just aren't there.
"We are already seeing that in the yardings at the moment and I actually think we will see low numbers for a long while, but in saying that, I think for the immediate future, the cattle market is in a pretty safe spot."
Recent rainfall has helped drive the increase in prices and demand, as the Tamworth region has recorded 500mm of rain so far this year.
The total is nearly more than double Tamworth's 2019 rainfall of 263mm and is nearly five times greater than at the same time last year.
However, Mr Swain said more rainfall was needed to help farmers for the long term.
"A lot of people are in a pretty good spot right now, but we have some areas that could do with a bit more rain," he said.
"Although those aren't desperate yet, the certainly need some more rain soon.
"We don't just need one great season, we need a couple of back-to-back seasons because one year isn't going to fix it."