Lamb sales unpredictable as farmers send sheep over the hooks

This trend was evident at Wagga Wagga, NSW, where an exceptional offering of grass-finished and grain-assisted lambs failed to ignite strong competition among buyers.

Trade prices, as reported by Meat & Livestock Australia's National Livestock Reporting Service, witnessed a decline of $10-$15 a head across various categories.

The most favourable outcomes of the day were observed for well-finished pens of lambs, weighing 22-24 kilograms, in short skins.

These lambs consistently fetched prices ranging from 490-515 cents a kilogram carcase weight, while the overall average for most sales settled at 470c/kg cwt.

Similarly, heavy lambs experienced a price drop of $10, reaching a range of $119-$177 and averaging 473c/kg cwt.

The mutton sale, however, lacked any sort of spark, with a big offering of about 13,000 sheep, testing the market.

Curiously, despite a $30 decrease in rates, restockers were notably absent, even in the presence of excellent runs of younger ewes and wethers.

As the week commenced, different price trends emerged between the neighbouring states of Victoria and NSW.

At Dubbo, NSW, lamb quality was decent, with the yarding size diminishing by 3000 head to 14,600 lambs and 11,480 sheep.

NLRS market reporter David Monk noted a shortage of trade lambs, resulting in firm to slightly higher prices for the better-quality drafts.

Heavy lambs maintained rates similar to the previous week, averaging 472c/kg cwt.

Meanwhile, Bendigo experienced lamb numbers consistently below 10,000 for a second consecutive week and combined in the total 1100 new-season lambs.

The fair to good-quality offering of trade lambs and less demand from processors led to a rate drop of $10-$15, which was particularly evident in well-shaped and freshly-presented new-season lambs.

The bulk sold between 470-550c/kg cwt.

Secondary lambs destined for processing sold to significantly cheaper trends of $10-$20.

The standout feature of the sale was the limited availability of heavier lambs with just 1300 offered.

The NLRS reported extra-heavy lambs slipped $15-$23 and commanded prices ranging from $128-$140

Erratic market conditions were evident at Ballarat on Tuesday in a smaller yarding of 9524 lambs and 1800 sheep.

Trade lambs experienced a moderate uptick in rates to average 522c/kg cwt.

On the other hand, heavy lambs experienced a more challenging scenario, with buyers extremely selective.

Despite the price drop, lambs weighing more than 30kg cwt managed to top at $155 to average 455c/kg cwt.