Bendigo - Lamb market sparks up but poor old Mutton

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Yarding - 20,510

Numbers rolled back to 15,910 lambs and 4600 sheep, with overall supply down more than 10,000 head on a week ago. The lamb market showed the most spark seen at Bendigo for some time, with buyers showing more urgency for a few numbers. Most lamb categories lifted $5 to $10/head with some tradeweight pens up to $15 better than last Monday. There was also a step-up in processor support for light and MK style lambs which boosted rates across the lighter weight categories. However prices for mutton went backwards again amid subdued bidding from buyers.

There wasn’t a lot of weight or finish in the young lamb run, with lambs above 28kg cwt scarce. A lot of the unshorn lambs showed signs of going dry and at times didn’t show a lot of fat cover. The heaviest suckers sold to $165 on a weight of 31kg cwt, and there was only three pens over $160 and a further 10 pens over $150/head. The main run of heavy young lambs, 26-30kg cwt, $136 to $158 to average $148; the heavy trades, 24-26kg, $138 to $148; and the 22-24kg trades $110 to $138 to average $127/head. These runs of lambs were estimated between 520c to 550c/kg cwt. Most reasonable light lambs sold from $55 to $100, with only limited pens of very small types under $40 today. Some restockers wanting light lambs were pushed out by processors. A specialist Ballarat restocker paid to $122 for trade lambs to shear.

Sheep supply was cut to less than a third of a week ago, but it still couldn’t support the market. Mutton was cheaper again, the majority of sales from $5 to $40/head at an estimated 50c to 120c/kg cwt.

https://www.bendigo.vic.gov.au/Services/Bendigo-Livestock-Exchange