As one of the star performers for the Australian agricultural sector in the past decade, the Australian sheep and lamb industry continues to face changing dynamics. From intense and widespread droughts to a series of wet and damp years, the industry has been forced to adapt and evolve seasonally.
Since 2017, an average of 3.4 million sheep and lambs spanning across all states of Australia have been listed on AuctionsPlus annually. The inaugural AuctionsPlus Sheep and Lamb Synopsis examines the impact of changing seasonal conditions since 2017, as well as key insights into breeds, categories, and regions across the country.
Mapping the journey: Distribution of sheep listings from 2017-2022.
Merino listing distribution:
The Merino breed has dominated AuctionsPlus commercial sheep and lamb listings, accounting for 63% of all listings on the platform since 2017, with 10.6 million head.
Central Western NSW has taken out top spot for both Merino listings and purchases over the period. Listings for the region from 2017 until the third quarter of 2022 totalled 1,562,498 head, followed closely by the Riverina NSW with 1,160,105 head.
The above time lapse highlights the considerable shift in the spread of Merino listings since 2017. Seasonal conditions hold substantial weighting in the changing distribution of Merinos from 2017-2022. Widespread drought across the east of Australia in 2018-19 substantially impacted listings, with heightened offerings from a concentrated area of drought impacted regions like Central West NSW. In 2020, widespread rain across much of the country resulted in an increase in listing locations, most notably from WA, SA and Victoria, who sought to take advantage of strong restocking demand. Comparing listings from 2017 to 2022 YTD, Gippsland, Victoria has registered an 88% increase in Merino listings, while WA listings rose by 100%. Continued favourable seasonal conditions and strong country wide demand in 2020 resulted in the fourth quarter of 2020 registering the highest listing quarter for Merinos, at 669,853 head.
Looking to purchases, Central Western NSW secured a total of 1,463,340 head of Merino listings since 2017. The largest purchasing quarter, Q2 2020, saw the region secure 141,295 head of Merinos.
Shedding Breed listing distribution:
While the Merino breed has dominated listings, shedding breed sheep have seen the most significant rise in listings and distribution across the same period. Listing a total of 706,075 head since 2017, the first three quarters of 2022 has registered the largest number of listings for the breed with 141,389 head.
As shown above, the spread of listings has been predominantly concentrated to NSW and Queensland, with the largest throughput region being Western NSW, listing 212,578 head since 2017. Western Queensland claimed second place, with 133,590 head, with listings increasing consistently each quarter since 2020.
Restocker demand across 2020 resulted in the breed dispersing south. This trend has been sustained into 2022, with the continued dispersal of the shedding breed sheep across Australia, with the Central & Hills region in SA listing 35,094 head – up 49% on 2020 listings.
On the purchasing side, Central Western NSW has secured top spot with 119,221 head purchased since 2017. Southern Queensland secured second place with 109,430 head purchased across the same period. The sustained demand outside of “traditional” locations was highlighted by a spur of purchases from Northern Victoria, with the region securing 8,198 head in 2022 - up 80% from 2019.
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s
