Weekly Sheep & Lamb Comments - Week ending Friday 31 March

Commercial sheep and lamb listings on AuctionsPlus fell 26% this week, with 65,289 head. The reduced offering resulted in clearance increasing again this week, up 4 percentage points to close out the week at 54%. Merino’s were the flavour of the week with most categories seeing higher prices.

Station mated Merino ewes saw the highest price rise of $113, to average $196 across the 3,849 head, achieving a healthy 56% clearance rate. Merino ewe lambs also had a strong week, with prices increasing $39 to average $112/head, and a clearance rate of 75% for the 2,180 head. The smaller overall offering was driven by reduced numbers of NSM ewes, down 55% to 9,313 head, while lambs decreased 10% to 30,761 head. 

Table 1: AuctionsPlus National Weekly Sheep and Lamb Prices
Link 2: National Lamb Sale Results
Link 3: Tuesday National Sheep Sale
Link 4: Results by Region

Crossbred lamb listings decreased further this week at 9,864 head and averaged $106/head, reaching a 67% clearance rate late on Thursday. From Larras Lee, NSW, two lines of 285 White Suffolk/Merino mixed sex lambs, Aug/Sep 22’ drop and averaging 41kg lwt returned $130/head. 

A total of 1,193 head of Merino wethers were listed and averaged $77/head, rising $11 on last week for a total clearance. From Walcha, NSW, a line of 328 woolgrower wethers, 46kg lwt and 18 – 19 months of age sold for $93/head.

SIL Merino ewe listings decreased by 25% this week to total 10,148 head and achieved a 41% clearance rate. Prices for the category increased by $15 to average $133, ranging between $90 - $201. From Clare, SA, a line of 200, 20-21-month-old SIL Merino ewes weighing 54kg lwt returned the top price of $201/head. 

Merino ewe hoggets sold between $80 - $138 for the 5,206 head offered and averaged $120/head – increasing $16 on last week. From Dirranbandi, Queensland, a line of 380 Merino ewe hoggets returned $119/head. These ewes are 19 – 20 months of age, weighed 52kg lwt and are heading to a buyer from Southern Queensland. 

Note: Prices as at 5pm Thursday, 30th March 2023

Table 1: AuctionsPlus National Weekly Sheep and Lamb Prices