Following three consecutive weeks of increased listings, the final week of January had AuctionsPlus sheep and lamb numbers back 18%, at 92,955 head. Total sheep and lamb listings for the month equated to 331,008 head – 16% higher year-on-year. Joined ewe listings held firm on last week, with just over 12,000 head, which returned mixed results.
New season lambs accounted for 58% of listings this week, with three of the six lamb categories recording price rises from last week. Despite widely publicized supply chain disruptions and reported hesitance from both buyers and sellers, prices for key lamb categories remained firm throughout January – underpinned by the overall quality of lambs coming onto the market. Merino wether and crossbred lamb categories have faced robust demand, with price averages across the month ranging from $134-147/head and $155-160/head, respectively, across the four National lamb sales held in January.
Crossbred lambs accounted for 27% of the offering this week, with a majority of listings flowing out of southwest Victoria, as the category averaged $160/head and returned a 76% clearance. An indicative run of two even lines totaling 1,700 head of Poll Dorset/Composite mixed sex store lambs from Port Campbell, Victoria, weighing 36.1kg liveweight, returned $168/head.
Ewe lamb categories returned mixed results this week, with both Merino and first cross ewe lamb categories registering reduced clearance rates, at 35% and 41%, respectively. First cross ewe lambs accounted for 9% of the offering this week, with 8,535 head listed online. Prices ranged from $150-390/head to average $254 – back $16 on last week. Merino ewe lamb numbers held firm on last week, with 1,749 head offered, as the category averaged $167/head – up $42 on last week.
Composite/other breed lambs made up 9% of the offering, at 7,744 head, as southwest Victoria and the NSW Riverina regions accounted for the majority of listings. The category returned a robust clearance of 81%, despite prices falling $109 week-on-week, to average $198/head.
Grown Merino wethers registered a 180% rise in listings week-on-week, with a total offering of 4,038 head. Prices for the category averaged $155/head - up $32, as clearance rates reached 74%.
Joined ewe categories saw a considerable rise in SIL Merino ewe listings this week, with 3,647 head offered as the category returned an 87% clearance. Prices for the category rose $11, to average $279/head, with a highlight including two lines of 2-6-year-old, totaling 500 head, from Dubbo, NSW, which weighed 66kg liveweight and returned $306/head.
Station mated shedding breed ewes and lambs remained in high demand this week, as the offering of 1,153 head returned a 100% clearance for the second consecutive week. The category averaged $384/head - up $107 from last week.
Unjoined ewe categories accounted for 20% of the catalogue this week, with Merino ewe hoggets and ewe listings totaling 5,910 and 6,953 head, respectively. Following a decline across all categories last week, prices for four of the five categories rose this week, while clearance rates remained firm. Merino ewe hoggets averaged $246/head – up $13 from last week, with a 71% clearance, while Merino ewes averaged $197/head – back $10, despite a boost in the clearance rate to 85%.
NOTE: Prices as at 5pm, Thursday 27th January 2022
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