DeniliquinSheep Report

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Report Date: 21st October 2023

Total Yarding: 7,700

Commentary

Sheep and hoggets outnumbered lambs in this sale. Just 2700 lambs were offered, and weight and freshness was sparse with most of the young unshorn types showing signs of having dried off. Agents predicted most woolly lambs in the area would now be shorn and they will kick-off with a better run of early shorn lambs in the pre-Christmas markets. Buyers didn’t show a lot of enthusiasm and mixed quality was an issue across the sale. The few pens of well presented shorn lambs attracted the best demand and sold to a top of $145 gaining up to $12 compared to a fortnight ago. Prices for light lambs were not as strong as some recent sales. No outside store buyers operated.

The best processing lambs trended from 460c to a top of around 520c/kg cwt for those with weight. Plainer and lighter lambs 340c to 440c/kg depending on breed, quality and number in a pen. In dollars per head there was only two sales above $140 for lambs, followed by three pens over $130. The bulk of the trade weighted lambs to processors sold from $80 to $115/head. Light lambs under 18kg cwt from $40 to $72. Some very secondary little Merino lambs sold down to $10.

There was some big lines of Merino wether hoggets in the yarding carrying short skins which sold from $44 to a top of $73. Some heavy crossbred two-tooth’s reached $80/hd. There was also a considerable number of ram lambs and stags.

In the sheep run light mutton was the highlight, with fat score 1 and 2 Merino ewes considerably dearer at $16 to $33/head. Merino ewes offering buyers a skin rebate reached up to $51.60. Mutton was dearer in a range of 100c to 160c/kg cwt.

Market reporter: Jenny Kelly