AuctionsPlus weekly sheep and lamb sales for the first week of 2022 hit the ground running, with a total of 40,567 head offered - 73% higher than the corresponding week in 2021. The largest listing regions included Southwest Victoria which offered over 50% of the total catalogue, with 22,661 head, while Kangaroo Island offered 4,198 head. The NSW Riverina was the top purchasing region this week, securing 7,969 head, followed by Southwest Victoria which secured 7,411 head.
With a lack of the usually high temperatures across key sheep producing regions and ongoing widespread rainfall, the spring flush of 2021 lambs has been drawn out, with regions such as Southwest Victoria and South Australia reportedly running 6-8 weeks behind the historical turnoff period. Given this delay, it is expected that ample lamb supplies will continue to hit the market throughout January, which will prove attractive for all buyers.
New season lamb numbers accounted for 83% of this weeks’ offering. Crossbred lambs remained the largest category, with 22,211 head listed. Prices ranged from $97 to $204/head, to average $157/head - a $3 rise from the final week in 2021, with demand for the category robust as clearance levels reached 82%.
Merino wether lambs accounted for 4% of the catalogue this week and traded within a tight range, from $140-160/head, to average $147/head – up $12 on the final sale of 2021. The tight supply was met with eager buyers, as the category returned a 96% clearance rate for the week.
Composite/other breed lambs had a total of 7,592 head offered this week, with the category averaging $170/head - up $9. Clearance rates for the category reached 59% this week, with buyers mainly chasing quality heavy lines. Topping the category was a line of Jun/Jul ’21 Primeline lambs from Karabeal, Victoria, which weighed 44.3kg liveweight and returned $240/head.
Joined ewes accounted for 4% of the offering this week. SIL Merino ewes had a total of 581 head offered this week, with the category averaging $275/head and returning 100% clearance. A line of 1.5-5.5 year-old ewes from Temora NSW, which averaged 65.8kg liveweight returned $310/head and will travel to Coonamble, NSW.
Unjoined ewe categories made up 11% of the offering this week. NSM Merino ewes had the largest offering with 2,511 head. The category averaged $178/head – back $8 from the last week of 2021, with a clearance rate of 69%. First cross ewes accounted for 4% of the offering, with prices averaging $307/head - up $15 with a clearance rate of 72%.
NOTE: Prices as at 5pm, Thursday 6th January 2022
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