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SA weekly sheep summary
03 September 2015
Lambs
SA lamb throughput lifted 39% week-on-week, with 15,732 head penned at NLRS reported saleyards.
- The SA Livestock Exchange offered 14,000 head, up 38%
- Numbers at Naracoorte increased 42%, to 1,732 head
Yardings were mixed, with most lambs at Naracoorte lacking weight and condition and quality also easing at the SA Livestock Exchange.
Very light weight (0-12kg cwt) 2 score new season restocker Merino lambs averaged 770¢/kg cwt. The light (12-16kg cwt) 3 score Merino lambs to slaughter averaged around 524¢, while crossbreds purchased by feeders settled on 633¢, up 33¢/kg cwt week-on-week. Trade weight 4 score crossbreds to slaughter ranged from 515¢, to a top of 615¢, although most averaged around 540¢/kg cwt.
Heavy weight 3 score old lambs averaged 52¢ cheaper week-on-week, at 462¢, while the 4 scores gained 24¢ to settle on 505¢/kg cwt.
Mutton
Total mutton throughput was 6% higher compared to last week, totalling 3,752 head.
- The yarding at the SA Livestock Exchange increased 14%, to 3,000 head
- Naracoorte’s sheep consignments, however, eased 17%, with 752 penned
Mutton quality was generally quite good, with a fair supply of heavy ewes at Naracoorte, and processor demand was strong.
Heavy 3 score Merino ewes lifted 26¢, to average 318¢, while heavy 4 score Merino wethers improved by a similar amount to average 357¢/kg cwt.
Note: All yardings and prices referenced from MLA’s National Livestock Reporting Service (NLRS) reported saleyards.
