These mixed sex August-September 2023 drop composite lambs weighing 33.7kg at Bombala ion NSW sold for $111 on AuctionsPlus last week.

MIXED competition met a slightly smaller online offering of sheep and lambs on AuctionsPlus last week, but clearances were noticeably stronger for lamb categories than for breeding sheep.

AuctionsPlus said listings slipped 7 percent to 34,168 head, but the overall clearance was 52pc at the end of sales, increasing to 68pc after post-auction negotiations were completed.

AuctionsPlus said post-sale negotiation might be a sign of producers and agents assessing the season and taking the “bird-in-the-hand” approach with rainfall forecasts in southern Australia still quite mixed for the upcoming months.

Value Over Reserve averaged $13/head, and while back week-on-week, it again proves that achievable reserves end in positive results even in flat markets, AuctionsPlus said.

The crossbred lamb indicator was flat on the previous week’s sale, up $1 to finish at $126, whereas the AuctionsPlus Restocker Lamb indicator slid back 25 points from 649c/kg the previous week to 624c/kg.

Lambs continued to make up the largest portion of the offering, with the category accounting for 43pc of total listings. The other major category of the week was scanned in-lamb ewes, that made up 38pc of the total catalogue. Small numbers of ewes and lambs, Merino wethers and Merino ewe hoggets made up the balance of the listings.

AuctionsPlus said the restocker lamb trade appears to be driven by the dry conditions in the main listing areas of south-west Victoria and the eastern Riverina. Agents report that while these areas have received some rain, there has not been enough to stimulate any major pasture growth. The scanned in-lamb listing came from very similar areas, so comparative reasons for listing could very easily be drawn, AuctionsPlus said.

Processors were active, accounting for15pc of the sold offering. They were mainly active on crossbred and composite lamb types.

Most sheep and lambs stayed within their regions; however, the processors looked interstate to fill orders, with movement mainly between Victoria and South Australia.

Crossbred lambs had a slightly larger offering week-on-week with 5577 head offered. These were met with similar demand with the average price up $2 to $126, although clearance was tight at 59pc at the close of trade. Composite lambs were the highlight, with 3499 offered with a 100pc clearance. At Walcha in New South Wales, 700 mixed sex September/October 2023 drop lambs weighing 44kg lwt sold for $157/head, or 361c/kg, to a buyer in Dunedoo, NSW.

The Merino wether lamb offering was back 23pc week-on-week to 4,779 head this week, and sold from $31-$90 to average $61/head, down $25. Taking into account the reduction in price the demand was solid, AuctionsPlus said, with a 68pc clearance and a $10 average Value Over Reserve. At Isisford in Queensland, 770 August/October 2023 drop wethers weighing 35kg lwt sold for $78 or 223c/kg to a buyer at Barmedman, NSW.

AuctionsPlus said scanned in-lamb Merino ewes met similar demand to the previous week, with all lines averaging $120/head, albeit with clearance back to 50pc. At Wellington in NSW, 294 three to four year-old Merino weighing 56kg sold for $134, or 240c/kg lwt, to a buyer in Griffith, NSW.

Note: Prices as at 5pm Thursday, June 20, 2024.

Source – AuctionsPlus.