Market retreats at Bendigo

List your commercial Sheep, Cattle, Rams or Bulls on Farm Tender Livestock. We now cater for Agents ($1/hd Sheep, $7/hd Cattle if you sell), as well as our usual Private Sellers (3%).

Yarding - 12,100

Numbers increased slightly to 6,700 lambs, but quality dropped away into a much plainer winter yarding that lacked weight and finish and there was only limited pens of good trade and exports available. The market retreated again loosing some of the big price gains seen at this centre a week ago. The best processing lambs were $5 to $10 easier, while the general run were $10 to $25 cheaper in a fluctuating sale that opened soft before gaining some momentum. The performance of the sheep sale was the opposite, with mutton price getting cheaper as the sale progressed. Heavy sheep averaged $15 to $30 lower while the light and trade categories generally lost $10 to $20/head. All the regular buyers were in attendance.

Export lambs above 30kg cwt were scare with just six pens selling above $230 to a top of $254/head. Heavy crossbred lambs, 26-30kg made from $210 to $230 and heavy trades, 24-26kg cwt from $194 to $218/head. The most plentiful supply was trade-weights of mixed quality which allowed buyers to be selective, the 22-24kg cwt lambs sold from $168 to $190 and the 20-22kg from $140 to $165/head. Most processing lambs above 22kg cwt sold in an estimated range of 720 to 780c/kg cwt. Plain light lambs under 20kg cwt again struggled for support to vary from $63 to $138/head and were at lower carcass price points.

New season lambs continued to trickle-in, and quality was just reasonable with most pens lacking hard carcass finish and buyers suggesting they needed more sunlight. The best young lambs sold to $212 for an estimated 25kg cwt, and the other pens of trade-weights from $178 to $208/head. A few pens of lighter weight young lambs from $114 to the paddock and to $154/head to processors.

Competition for sheep was weaker and buyers pulled back their offers as the auction progressed. One agency did pass in a few pens. A stand-out run of extra heavy shorn Merino wethers, the tops estimated at 38-40kg cwt, sold from $174 to $190/head. Heavy crossbred ewes sold from $160 to $202/head. The general run of heavy and trade Merino ewes selling from $130 to $170/head. Light sheep selling from $61 to $127. Most mutton categories averaged between 500c to 550c/kg, however pens of sheep did sell down to 450c/kg cwt.

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