Bendigo - What goes up must come down.....

Yarding - 27,180

Numbers increased ahead of next Monday’s public holiday, with nearly 16,000 lambs and 11,300 sheep presented for sale. There was more weight in the leading crossbred and Dorper lamb lots, although overall quality declined, resulting in a mixed offering that included some clean-up winter-type lots. The lamb market was quite erratic, with indications that buyers were trying to pull back on heavy lambs, influenced by the high carcass prices from the previous week.

Heavy lambs averaged $10 to $25 per head cheaper, with some sales dropping as much as $50 per head below last Monday's figures. In contrast, trade-weight lambs showed more consistency, easing by $6 to $12 per head. In terms of carcass price estimates, some quality-fed lambs reached 1000c/kg cwt, while others slipped below 900c/kg, highlighting the market's volatility during the auction. The average cost of heavy lambs fell to an estimated 920c to 960c/kg cwt across most weights and grades. Mixed price results were observed for light lambs, although decent lines of Merinos offering a skin rebate sold well, showing stronger trends across most categories. The best export lambs, exhibiting a hard finish, sold from $285 to a top price of $365 per head, while some pens over 30kg cwt with less finish dropped to $250 per head. Heavy Dorpers sold for up to $270 per head, and fed Merinos reached $274 per head.

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The main run of heavy crossbred lambs, weighing 26-30kg cwt, varied from $231 to $298 per head, maintaining an average carcass price over 900c/kg cwt despite a wide spread in prices. Best heavy trade lambs sold for $204 to $255 per head, while the general run of light and medium trade lambs ranged from $175 to $220 per head. Quality was mixed in lambs under 20kg cwt, with the best types selling for $140 to $173 per head. Smaller lambs generally sold for $90 to $130 per head, and some secondary lots were priced below $30 per head at times.

Heavy mutton prices increased, comfortably tracking over 600c/kg cwt, with select lines exceeding 700c/kg cwt. Lighter mutton sold at levels similar to the previous week. Some very large crossbred ewes topped at $270 per head, with most better-conditioned pens selling between $212 and $250 per head. Merino ewes reached $244 per head. There were still many ewes in the general run priced between $90 and $160 per head, with very light-conditioned Merino ewes and wethers selling for $60 to $90 per head.

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