Buyer urgency back at Bendigo

Yarding - 16,360

More urgency from the buying ranks as lamb numbers dropped back to 9310 head to be nearly 6700 below the supply of a week ago. Prices were dearer, gaining anything from $5 to $20 with the best quality new season lambs and light stock under 20kg cwt recording the best gains as they recovered from the cheaper trend of last Monday. The rise took the best heavy new season lambs back over 900c/kg cwt again. Sheep were also dearer, with the exception of the heaviest crossbred ewes which remained firm.

The buying focus is starting to transition to new season stock and one pen of extra heavy unshorn lambs nearing an estimated 30kg cwt topped at $279/head. The next best price was $244. Most of the lead pens of young lambs were heavy trades at $190 to $235 at an estimated 850c to 940c/kg cwt. Once off the top onto the plainer trade young lambs with less weight and hard carcass finish the price was $168 to $189/head. There was two large lines of MK sized light young lambs, but in fresh condition, which sold strongly at $130 and $121/head.

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In the old lambs there wasn’t a lot of weight, the few heavy export pens from $240 to $270/head. The pick of the heavy trade lambs up to about 28kg cwt from $202 to $244/head, and neat medium trades $170 to $200/head. It was still something of a two speed market in the old lambs, the better quality types in shorn skins costing 800c to 880c/kg cwt but secondary clean-up winter lots still fluctuating in the 700c/kg cwt price bracket. Light lambs under 20kg cwt were considerably dearer in places compared to last week at $90 to $139 for those under 18kg cwt. Smallest lambs $48 to $90/head.

Just a modest decline in sheep supply down to 7050 head, 1200 less. The heaviest crossbred ewes were firm at $100 to $130, buying dominated by a northern exporter who only purchased mutton and no lambs in this market. But the other grades of mutton were all dearer by $8 to $20/head, good runs of sheep estimated as costing processors 370c to 430c/kg cwt. Heavy Merino wethers to $130; heavy Merino ewes $110 to $134; general run of sheep $60 to $90/head. There was the occasional sale of very light ewes down to $1/head.

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