It was a struggle for both Sheep and Lambs at Bendigo

Zero Commission Livestock Selling - Agents and Private sellers, you can now sell your Livestock for free on Farm Tender. Check out how it works here.

Yarding - 24,490

Both the lamb and sheep markets lost drive today at Bendigo as the buying ranks thinned out. Two major exporters didn’t operate, there was no major supermarket support, and other processors just tended to poke along. There was 16990 lambs yarded for an increase of nearly 2000 head on the previous Monday. There was another very good line-up of heavy lambs, although the standard wasn’t quite up to last week. Prices for heavy lambs were a good $20/head cheaper taking into account the quality component, and demand got weaker as the sale progressed to the point the last agent was passing-in some good lambs when offers went below $180. Trade lambs were generally $5 to $12 cheaper, while results for light lambs varied around whether they attracted restocker interest or not. There was still some solid bidding for good quality store lambs at a times.

Export crossbred lambs over 30kg cwt sold from $179 to a top of $240, with most sales from $200 to $230/head. Bidding was selective right through the run, but demand did drop off noticeably and late in the sale there was some pens of big heavy lambs struggling to make $230/head. The price range for heavy 26-30kg cwt lambs was $160 to $198/hd. Price averages for these heavy lamb categories were 620c to 650c/kg cwt. Best heavy trade lambs $151 to $168, with the general run of medium and light trades from $120 to $148 - a range of 600c to 650c covering the bulk of sales. But noting there was lamb sales to processors recorded below 600c today, mainly for unshorn woolly lambs, smaller lots or plainer bred first-cross types. A restocking order from Horsham was back operating and helped support the better lines of suitable store lambs at $120 to $140 for those with frame. Smaller lambs varied from $60 to $110 for most. Plainest lambs, including some little Merinos, $14 to $35/head.

The sheep market mirrored lamb by starting off cheaper and then losing substantial ground late in the auction. Towards the end of the mutton run there was sheep selling for less than 200c/kg cwt, some pens of plain sheep below 100c. Heavy ewes $55 to $95, light sheep $5 to $45/head.

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