Weekly Sheep & Lamb Comments - Week ending Friday 13th October

AuctionsPlus commercial sheep and lamb numbers shot up this week by 18% to see 63,528 head offered. The bulk of the numbers were represented through Merino lines, with all categories seeing substantial increases on last week, driven by the 200% rise in Merino wether lamb numbers at 20,022 head. Although lamb numbers did jump 6% from last week, it was the NSM sheep lines where the additional supply came from, seeing a 57% increase on last week at 23,991 head.

Despite the larger supply, the market held relatively steady. Clearance at 58% showed only a 5 percentage-point decrease on last week and prices were mostly flat, with 6 categories rising and 3 falling.

To highlight the longevity in negotiations between buyers and sellers for passed in stock, last week's reported clearance of 63% on Friday is now currently at 74%, rising 11% over the week.

New season lambs continue to slowly rise week on week, with the 38,008 head being met with strong demand. 71% of the offering found a buyer and averaged $7 above set reserve levels. Processors continue to look online to fill orders, with 10% of the sold yarding heading to processors.

Table 1: AuctionsPlus National Weekly Sheep and Lamb Prices
Report: Interactive Market Dashboard

Crossbred lamb numbers registered only half of last week's numbers, with the 10,129 head back 49%. The drop in supply resulted in strong competition, with the category seeing an 87% clearance and average prices rising $8, at $61/head. From Koraleigh, VIC a line of 415 May/Jun '23 Poll Dorset/Merino mixed sex lambs weighing 42kg lwt returned $85/head, or 205c/kg.

Merino wether lamb supply continues to balloon, with the 20,022 head seeing a 78% clearance rate and prices falling $3 to average $45/head. The larger offering was a result of a surge from South Australia, with the 16,427 head resulting in an 82% clearance, while the overall wether lamb offering posted a 78% clearance. From Coomandook, SA the top price was returned by a line of 315 Mar/Apr 23’ drop Merino wether lambs weighing 53kg and returning $195/head.

Merino ewe hogget numbers lifted 43% to 13,067 head, with the offering rising $6 to average $79/head. From Canowindra, NSW a line of 480 Poll Merino ewe hoggets aged 12 to 13 months and weighing 36kg returned $56/head.

Note: Prices as at 5pm Thursday, 12^th October 2023

Table 1: AuctionsPlus National Weekly Sheep and Lamb Prices

AuctionsPlus Interactive Sheep Market Report