Sheep and lambs follow a seasonal pattern where conception starts in January/February and are then born in June/July of the same year. During spring, pastures are growing the fastest, lambs are being weaned and begin to put on weight. During this time of the year lamb supply is at its highest.

Rain fell across much of southern Australia last week, with some parts of Victoria and NSW receiving more rain in the past week than over the entire month of September. Elsewhere, rain was more limited but large parts of southeast Queensland, South Australia, and southwest WA had at least some rain, in contrast to a relatively dry winter.

Prices and Market

On Tuesday, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) declared that El Niño and a positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) are underway. This suggests that spring and summer this year are likely to be hotter and drier than average, which aligns with previous forecasts from the BOM.

Cattle yardings rose by 6,383 to 44,533 head. The market eased this week, with price movements consistent between saleyards compared to previous weeks.

31,779 tonnes of Australian lamb were exported in August, 21% more than August 2022 and the highest monthly export volume on record.

The Australian wool market, measured by the Eastern Market Indicator (EMI), is outperforming all sheep and lamb indicators this year. The EMI has fallen 12% over the last 12 months; in comparison, the heavy lamb (the best-performing ovine indicator) has fallen 38%.

Cattle yardings were their lowest in nine weeks this week, tightening by 11,108 to 38,150 head. Yardings in NSW and Victoria eased marginally due to fortnightly sales not running this week, while yardings in Queensland tightened by 10,778 head. Numbers in Queensland eased in every sale, with sales an average of 29% smaller than the week before.

Meat & Livestock Australia’s (MLA) marketing brand, Australian Lamb, has partnered with MasterChef alumni and founder of Marion’s Kitchen, Marion Grasby, to “Say More With Lamb” this spring.

Consistent with trends over the past few months, the cattle market generally eased this week. Cattle yardings totaled 43,493 head, just 12 head more than last week. Most sales numbers increased or fell very slightly, except for Dalby, where yardings fell by 2,381 to 4,763 head.