Upward price trend at Bendigo

Yarding - 12,680

Lamb numbers came back to 9510 head and sheep just 3170 as the yarding went very wintery with a lot of smaller clean-up lots. It meant buyers had to chase harder for the limited runs of lambs and sheep with weight and finish and these were up to $20 dearer. Plainer lambs also sold at stronger levels but price improvements were not as significant, these types lifting by around $5 to $10/head. But while processor competition did intensify buyers were still able to average down their purchase costs by picking through the plainer and more wintery looking lambs. The result was a price scale of 780c to 820c/kg cwt for a limited run of stand-out supermarket and domestic style lambs; followed by 720c to 780c/kg cwt for the main run of heavy and trade lambs; and then 650c to 700c/kg cwt for plainer lambs in smaller lots and longer skins. There was a lot of penlots today that had less than 30 head.

Export lambs over 30kg cwt from $220 to a top of $274 to move up to a ballpark average of 750c. The best supermarket style went over $200, and good trade lambs sold from $164 to $205/hd at 720c to 780c for most with occasional pens at a premium above 800c/kg cwt. Plainer and lighter trade lambs $135 to $165/hd for most. Light lambs mostly $70 to $135 and were dearer in places amid very mixed quality. In the Merino section some small lots of heavy weights made $162 to $185/head. There was a big run of lean Merino lambs but with frame-size and in a reasonable skin that sold to feeders/restockers at $138 to $160/head. Agents did pay up to $170 for trade framed crossbred lambs to feed on.

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The sheep sale followed the trend of the lamb market by favouring sheep with weight and reasonable fat cover. Heavy mutton gained up to $20 in a sale that gained momentum as it went, good lines of processing sheep costing 350c to just over 400c/kg cwt. Big crossbred ewes to $110 to $139; Merino ewes in wool to $144; big Merino wethers $110 to $142. But there was little price movement on the most secondary and light sheep at $20 to $55/head. Rams at $9 to $18/head.

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