Weekly cattle and sheep market wrap
11 April 2025
Key points:
- There was strong competition for secondary stock, especially cattle suited for feedlots.
- Producers are taking advantage of the cattle market, lifting cow numbers by 40%.
- This week marked the largest combined sheep and lamb yardings for 2025 at 416,663 head.
Cattle market
The cattle market has changed direction after the announcement of US tariffs, with the exception of the Restocker Steer Indicator, which has remained stable. With the Easter break approaching, supply spiked by 6,326 to 69,564 head.
A competitive market for secondary stock – particularly under 500kg – was seen, especially for animals suited for feedlots. This led to the Feeder Steer Indicator moving sideways, remaining at 387¢/kg liveweight (lwt). Price lifts were recorded in NSW and Victoria, with Queensland experiencing dips.
The market couldn’t maintain the prices recorded last week after throughput lifted by 40% to 13,870 head, leading to the Processor Cow Indicator easing by 21¢ to 298c/kg lwt. Wagga recorded 2,150 cows, with the price for heavy cows easing by 12¢ with a more significant decline for leaner cows by 23¢.
Sheep market
The sheep market followed the same direction as cattle this week, with substantial movements in the Mutton Indicator and the Restocker Lamb Indicator. Total yardings reached 416,663 head, marking it as the largest yarding for 2025, with lifts for both sheep and lambs.
Without an autumn break, there was a significant increase in sheep and lamb numbers at Wagga. This, combined with the upcoming public holidays, prompted producers to offload their stock in anticipation of no rain. There continues to be a strong base for lambs over 30kg with a strong price, however, the Heavy Lamb Indicator eased by 14¢ to 807¢/kg carcase weight (cwt).
The Mutton Indicator eased by 87¢ to 464¢/kg cwt and could not maintain . Record prices enticed producers to saleyards, resulting in an increase of 60% in throughput. Wagga witnessed the largest combined lamb and sheep yardings since April 2024, with 29,000 sheep yarded this week, leading to a market correction of $100–$113/head for heavy sheep.
Slaughter
Week ending 4 April 2025
Cattle slaughter eased by 3,690 to 143,87 head. Slaughter eased in both Queensland and Victoria by 2,877 and 1,314 head, respectively, and remained stable in the other states. In the coming weeks, slaughter is expected to ease with the Easter break.
Combined sheep and lamb slaughter also eased by 18,605 to 696,607 head. Lamb slaughter remained stable at above half a million head. Slaughter in SA eased by 5,026 head, with Victoria following a similar trend, easing by 5,369 head. Lifts of 5,741 head were seen in WA, with NSW also lifting by 2,653 head. Sheep slaughter eased by 17,142 to 190,383 head. Significant reductions in NSW (drop of 16,383 head) correlate with the huge lift in mutton prices seen last week. Reductions were also experienced in Tasmania and Victoria by 1,393 and 1,989 head.
Attribute content to: Emily Tan MLA Market Information Analyst
