Local cattle prices are better than ever, with the recent sale at Carcoar's Central Tablelands Livestock Exchange (CTLX) bringing a record $5.55 per kilogram, according to Ray White Emms Mooney agent Liam Murphy.

"We've never seen anything like this before," he said.

"Last week our best result for similar cattle was $5.15, so we're basically seeing a good 35 to 40 cent jump in a week on those types of cattle."

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The feeder steers that went for a total of $2743 per head were farmed at Yetholme by the Kable family, who are regulars at CTLX, south-west of Bathurst.

Vendors are seeing top prices due to high demand and low numbers as farmers try to rebuild their herds after selling off stock during the drought.

"Obviously the drought is probably the underlying factor that has been a massive push towards this," Mr Murphy said.

"We've gone into a big restocking stage where we've had such good widespread rain statewide which has led to probably less cattle coming onto the market."

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Another factor that played a significant role is COVID, he said, as the spike was noticeable last year as more people stayed home.

Mr Murphy said the current market is great for farmers after they went through such a tough recent period.

"We're probably in a once-in-a-lifetime market," he said.

"I've been in this job for nine years and I've never seen anything like it.

"To be honest, I don't know if it can go any higher, but then again it might."