What’s In Store For the Spring Lamb Flush

With the spring selling season fast approaching, bringing with it the spring lamb flush, AuctionsPlus joined breed data has been utilised to highlight the changing trends in lamb production and anticipate which lamb breeds are set to make an impact on the market in the coming months. 

The first seven months of 2022 registered 556,400 head of joined ewes offered across AuctionsPlus weekly sheep sales, accounting for 26% of the total sheep and lamb offering for the year. While joined ewe numbers were back by 16% from the same period in 2021, they were still sitting 7% higher than in 2020. The strong offering of joined ewes this year will provide an understanding into the trends of what is to come for the upcoming spring season, while shedding some insight into current producer sentiment and decisions.

The sustained emphasis on maximising lamb growth, feed efficiency and carcass quality has underpinned a rise in multi-purpose lambs. Looking at 2022 listings and clearance rates for joined ewe offerings, the upcoming 2022 spring lamb flush is set to see a robust offering of terminal sired lambs with prime Merino cross terminal lambs on track to dominate listings. Shedding breed lambs are also expected to hit the spring market, with the ongoing demand supporting increased numbers coming into both store and breeding markets.

The sires of joined ewe listings were broken into terminal, maternal, composite, Merino and shedding breed categories. The terminal sire has dominated ewe listings since 2018 (Figure 1), with the Merino ewe the most popular joining option - accounting for 58% of listings. The desire of producers to breed a multi-purpose lamb with both meat quality and wool clip traits remains a clear preference when joining with Merino ewes. While 2022 has seen a slight decline in ewes joined by terminal sires, the portion of ewes joined to maternal sires continues to increase, up 127% on 2020, with 98,325 head in 2022 accounting for 19% of the total joined offering.

Figure 1: Number of head offered by sire joined to Jan-Jul (2018-2022) AuctionsPlus weekly commercial sales

Looking to 2022, the industry has seen a considerable shift in sire joinings, as producers are forced to consider the impact of labour shortages, wet seasonal conditions and ever-changing consumer demands. While terminal breeds remain the dominant sire, shedding and composite breeds have registered a considerable rise this year - up 42% and 27%, respectively from 2021.

When it comes to breeding ewes, Merinos are dominant and have easily held the top spot since 2018. Terminal sires account for 50% of Merino ewe joining’s, making them the most popular sire breed, with shedding breed and first cross ewes rounding out the top five joining combinations of 2022 (See Table 1).

Table 1: Top 5 joined ewe and sire categories Jan-Jul 2021-2022

Demand for shedding breed ewes and their progeny has continued into 2022, with joined offerings sired by shedding breed ewes achieving the highest clearance at 77%. Composite sires are the only category to register an increase on 2021, up 5%, to sit at 67% (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: Clearance rate by joined ewe sire Jan-Jul (2018-2022) AuctionsPlus weekly commercial sales