Commercial sheep and lamb listings on AuctionsPlus slipped to 70,989 – down 9% from last week. Listings remain above the same week in 2021 and 2022. Average value over reserve eased $1 to $9 and clearance rate fell 8 percentage points to finish the week at 48%, climbing from 38% at auction end on Tuesday. A smaller offering of lambs resulted in higher prices, while SIL Merino ewes also increased but the remainder of the market was mixed. Interestingly this week, purchases of lambs and sheep were concentrated around the NSW Riverina and Southwest Slopes. While listings were more evenly spread across northern NSW, suggesting the movement of commercial sheep and lamb from northern NSW to regions further south.
Table 1: AuctionsPlus National Weekly Sheep and Lamb Prices
Link 2: National Lamb Sale Results
Link 3: Tuesday National Sheep Sale Results
Report: Interactive Market Dashboard - NEW
Crossbred lambs registered 12,635 head and averaged $109/head – up $11 on last week for a 73% clearance rate. Prices ranged from 187-346c and averaged 302c/kg lwt. From Mingbool, SA, a line of 957 Aug/Sep 22’ drop Poll Dorset/Primeline mixed sex lambs weighing 40kg returned $132/head, or 331c/kg lwt.
A total of 10,106 Merino wether lambs were offered throughout the week with 59% selling to an average $76/head – up $11 on last week. Prices ranged from 192-270c and averaged 205c/kg lwt. From Glenorchy, Victoria, a line of 350 Aug/Sep 22’ drop Merino store wether lambs weighing 36kg returned $87/head, or 239c/kg lwt.
SIL Merino ewes registered 8,940 head and ranged from $90 - $210 to average $148/head – down $3 on last week for a 27% clearance rate. From Wee Waa, NSW, a line of 235 21-22-month-old Merino SIL ewes weighing 65kg returned $177/head, $42 over the reserve price.
SM Shedding breed ewes registered 3,698 head, prices ranged from $145 - $208 and averaged $198/head – down $46 from last week for a 62% clearance rate. From Hermidale, NSW, 4 lines of a total 1,500 Mar/Apr 22’ drop Australian White SM ewes weighing 48kg returned from $200 - $208/head, averaging $205/head.
Note: Prices as at 5pm Tuesday, 12th May 2023
Table 1: AuctionsPlus National Weekly Sheep and Lamb Prices