Wednesday daily sheep summary

Lamb supplies at Forbes decreased 40% this week, to 22,700 head. Off the back of quite a sharp decline in numbers, quality followed a similar trend – with a slightly larger portion of the yarding showing the signs of the continued dry weather. Heavy and extra heavy weights were limited, and the usual buyers competed in a cheaper market overall.

Mutton throughput declined 25%, to 8,450 head. Merinos made up the majority of the offering, with quality mixed and prices remaining mostly firm to dearer.

• Light weight 2 score Old lambs to restockers averaged 622¢/kg cwt
• Heavy weight 4 score Old lambs to processors were back 31¢, to 620¢/kg cwt
• Extra heavy weight 4 score Old lambs to slaughter slipped 26¢, to 616¢/kg cwt
• Medium weight 3 score Merino ewes were up 22¢, averaging 425¢/kg cwt

CVLX Ballarat lamb numbers decreased 24%, to 19,153 head. Quality was once again good, with quite a large portion of the offering supplementary fed. The usual buying group operated in an easier market overall, with restockers and feeder buyers active, while processors bid more selectively.

Sheep offerings increased 42%, to 7,464 head. Not all the regular buyers operated fully, with Merinos trending slightly dearer and some crossbred lines cheaper in places.

• Light weight 2 score Young lambs to restockers were back 14¢, to 671¢/kg cwt
• Trade weight 3 score Old lambs to feed slipped 30¢, averaging 640¢/kg cwt
• Heavy weight 3 score Old lambs to processors eased 63¢, to 612¢/kg cwt
• Extra heavy weight 4 score Old lambs to slaughter dropped 33¢, to 624¢/kg cwt
• Medium weight 3 score Merino ewes slipped 23¢, averaging 453¢/kg cwt

At the close of Tuesday’s markets:

• The eastern states restocker lamb indicator averaged 671¢, declining 9¢/kg cwt from the previous day.
• Merino lambs averaged 565¢, back 25¢/kg cwt
• Light lambs averaged 603¢, back 14¢/kg cwt
• Trade lambs averaged 622¢, back 8¢/kg cwt
• Heavy lambs eased 14¢, averaging 619¢/kg cwt
• The mutton indicator settled 5¢ dearer, at 425¢/kg cwt

For the full list of sheep market reports, please click here. 

Note: All yardings and prices referenced are from MLA reported saleyards