Weekly sheep and cattle market wrap
21 October 2022
Key points:
- Cattle, sheep and lamb slaughter returned to seasonal norms this week.
- Restocking demand remains strong in the cattle market.
- Buyers are chasing heavier lambs and are willing to pay a premium price for them.
Yardings have increased this week for cattle, with predicted further wet conditions to come. At some sheep sales, the yarding improved dramatically as producers look to move livestock off their properties before the wet potentially prevents any transport to saleyards.
The restocker yearling steer indicator has lifted in price and yardings this week, with Dalby taking out the most contribution at 36%. Forbes took out one of the highest prices in the indicator with quality improving at the saleyard. Restocker demand in the market continues to grow with wet conditions.
Meanwhile, Dalby saw a near doubling in cattle yardings on Wednesday with cattle being drawn from a wider area. Export buyers coming from southern areas improved demand at the saleyard.
The Western Young Cattle Indicator lifted 11¢ week-on-week and the Eastern Young Cattle Indicator held firm.
Young lambs
The number of young lambs (new season lambs) hitting the market has been increasing from the end of September. This week, young lamb yardings were 35% higher than yardings of older season lambs. Quality and weight seem to be two key factors determining what buyers are willing to pay.
Demand for heavier young lambs has also been increasing and supply remains firm. This is reflected in the heavy lamb indicator, where the national average has improved 8¢ week-on-week. Forbes took out the highest premium on the national average, at 824¢/kg lwt. Demand from processors is creating some pricing pressure.
Wagga Wagga saw a lift in lamb yardings while sheep yardings eased 7,000 head. The competition for good quality heavy lambs has seen buyers pay a premium, with the top-heavy lambs selling for $290/head to processors.
Slaughter
Lamb and sheep slaughter have returned to elevated levels with a total of 547,720 head processed this week – the highest lamb and sheep numbers since the very beginning of last year. This is 12% up on year-ago levels. Good quality heavy lambs have been going for premium prices in the market with increased processor demand.
Cattle slaughter has lifted to 91,683 head but remains below the numbers seen this time last year. Goat slaughter has softened significantly off the back of the extreme highs seen several weeks ago. This easing in numbers has been happening in Queensland and Victoria for some time.
Markets not operating
Markets that did not go ahead this week included Shepperton, Emerald and Swan Hill.
Co-products
The new co-products report was released last week with new record high prices for beef cheeks. Read the full report or see the latest analysis in this article. You can also subscribe to be notified of when the next report is released here.
