Bendigo Sheep Report

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Report Date: 3rd November 2025

Total Yarding: 23,630

Commentary

Dearer market with any well finished heavy lambs keenly supported which took export weighted young lambs back over the $400/head mark again. Just shy of 16,000 lambs were yarded to be down 2000 head on a week ago. The break up was 10,000 new season lambs and the balance shorn or old season, and some agents are now starting to lead their runs with recently shorn young lambs. It was a very wet day at Bendigo and the market was buoyant with price gains of $10 to $30/head recorded over a lot of lambs. The estimated average cost of good trade and heavy lambs was $11 to $11.80kg cwt to processors, and with some pens over $12 and even $13kg cwt as the market gained a fair bit of pace mid-sale on the best lambs. The market did favour lambs with weight and good fat cover today. Store lambs were dearer, particularly on any bigger one-mark lines of small but well-bred types in the 12-16kg cwt range which averaged $20/head dearer.

Export weighted young lambs $360 to a market high of $409/head, the top pens up around 34kg cwt. The best heavy 26-30kg cwt young lambs were consistently strong at $302 to $365/head; followed by the heavy trades at $266 to $310/head. The main run of 22-24kg cwt young lambs $233 to $288/head, this category improving $15/head as the estimated cost to processors went over $11kg cwt again. There was also some nicely presented shorn young lambs, and again anything with weight and good fat cover was keen supported at $290 to $368, these lambs also costing $11kg plus. It was still the core restocking areas of Bendigo, Horsham and Ballarat which were active and paid from $190 to $226/head for store lambs with frame, and $160 to $200/head for smaller young lambs.

Stronger mutton sale for similar numbers of 7600. Most grades $5 to $20 dearer, heaviest ewes starting off at around 680c/kg but with the majority of weights and grades averaing from 700c to 760c/kg cwt – some light ewes closer to 800c/kg at times. Heaviest ewes $230 to $295/head and there was some buying tussles between a couple of exporters which spiked the market. It also happened on rams which sold to a top of $274/head to be among the best money seen at Bendigo for rams. General run of trade to heavy ewes mostly $170 to $230/head; lightest ewes $93 to $145/head.

Jenny Kelly for MLA.