Weekly Sheep & Lamb Comments - Week ending Friday 20th October

AuctionsPlus commercial sheep and lamb numbers decreased slightly this week by 3% to see 61,823 head offered. Demand was strong, with a 10-percentage point rise in clearance from last week at 72%, while the AuctionsPlus Restocker Lamb Indicator increased by 11 cents to average 325c/kg DW.

NSM ewe prices eased with all four categories decreasing. Value over reserve was firm on last week at $8. Yarding numbers were driven by a return to more common levels for crossbred lambs, while higher sheep and joined ewe offerings helped offset the decrease in Merino wether lamb numbers.

New season lambs numbers fell from last week at 36,769 head, however, the slightly smaller offering encouraged a strong 79% clearance rate and prices increased by $11 to average $62/head. Value Over Reserve for the new season offering averaged $8 above set reserves, highlighted by two lines of first cross ewe lambs from Naromine, NSW which sold $59 over their set reserve to finish at $124/head.

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

Crossbred lamb numbers almost doubled from last week, with the 19,785 head up $2 on last week's numbers to average $62/head. Clearance was a healthy 85%. From Murringo, NSW a line of 650 Poll Dorset/Merino May/Jun '23 mixed sex lambs weighing 39kg lwt returned $77/head, or 199c/kg.

Merino wether lamb supply dropped drastically this week, falling by 70% from last week's highs to see 6,087 head offered. Demand for the category was strong, with an 86% clearance achieved and prices dropped by $1 to average $44/head. From Strathbogie, VIC a line of 315 May/Jun '23 Merino wether lambs weighing 36kg lwt returned $62/head, or 173c/kg.

Merino ewes with lambs at foot have hit the box this week, with the 1,457 head resulting in a 100% clearance rate. Prices ranged from $42 to $97 and averaged $65/head. From Trangie, NSW a line of 216 Merino ewes and 280 Border Leicester lambs at foot sold for $90/head. The ewes are 2 to 3 years old and weigh 61kg, while the lambs weighed 23kg and are 2 to 3 months of age.

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Note: Prices as at 5pm Thursday, 19^th October 2023

Table 1: AuctionsPlus National Weekly Sheep and Lamb Prices

AuctionsPlus Interactive Sheep Market Report