BUYERS looking to increase livestock numbers on the back of the wet season and high volumes of feed, along with potential failed crops, formed the backbone of a solid first-cross lamb sale at Edenhope last week.
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It was a small yarding of 3800 lambs, with numbers reduced due to issues with paddock access after heavy rain in early November through the south-west Wimmera, but those at the market were happy with the way the sheep presented.
"It has been a credit to the vendors the way the lambs have come up given the difficult season and the cold and wet conditions," AWN Edenhope agent David Hanel said.
"With all the feed about, well-bred sheep like these will be a great investment."
In the shorn Merino/Border Leicester wether lambs there were 2300 offered, with the top pen making $147 a head, down to $96.
Around 1500 woolly crossbred lambs made from $134 down to $70.
Mr Hanel said repeat buyers supported the sale well, with the usual buying gallery in attendance.
There was strong purchasing competition from the south-west, in particular the Heywood district, across the South Australian border at Bordertown, as well as local Wimmera buyers.
The sale's volume vendors included local operations Westwood, the Kealy family and Staude Partnership, Pigeon Ponds.
John Staude, Staude Partnership, offered around 500 lambs at the sale.
Mr Staude said he was pleased with the results.
"They all sold fairly well, I was hoping with all this feed about and no one able to make hay there would be people looking to buy and that was what happened," he said.
"We've got a fair bit of feed about so if the prices were not right I would've been happy to take them back home but things worked out well."
David Lees, Karnak, bought around 500 wether lambs at the sale.
Mr Lees said he was looking to take advantage of abundant feed.
"We won't be able to make hay and we may well have some failed crops, especially faba beans, so the wethers will do well on them," he said.
Gregor Heard
Gregor Heard is ACM's national grains industry reporter, based in Horsham, Victoria. He has a wealth of knowledge surrounding the cropping sector through his 15 years in the role. Prior to that he was with the Fairfax network as a reporter with Stock & Land. Some of the major issues he has reported on during his time with the company include the deregulation of the export wheat market, the introduction of genetically modified crops and the fight to protect growers better from grain trader insolvencies. Still involved with the family farm he is passionate about rural Australia and its people and hopes to use his role to act as an advocate for those involved in the grain sector.
Gregor Heard is ACM's national grains industry reporter, based in Horsham, Victoria. He has a wealth of knowledge surrounding the cropping sector through his 15 years in the role. Prior to that he was with the Fairfax network as a reporter with Stock & Land. Some of the major issues he has reported on during his time with the company include the deregulation of the export wheat market, the introduction of genetically modified crops and the fight to protect growers better from grain trader insolvencies. Still involved with the family farm he is passionate about rural Australia and its people and hopes to use his role to act as an advocate for those involved in the grain sector.
