Farm Tender

Numbers down dramatically at Ballarat

Yarding - 8297 (-12,854).
Lambs - 6536 (-9959).
Sheep - 1761 (-2895).

6,500 lambs yarded, around 10,000 down on last week's numbers. The quality was mostly plain with a small selection of well-presented trade weight lambs and extra heavy lambs on offer. Not all the usual buying group were in attendance, the market was very erratic seeing price spikes to around 845c/kg cwt but overall the market was back around $8 to $15/head.

Light lambs sold from $85 to $145 and feeders paid from $95 to $148/head. Trade lambs, 18 to 22kg, sold from $137 to $178/head. Lambs,22 to 24kg, sold from $170 to $190/head, with a range of 725c to 848c to average around 775c/kg cwt. Lambs, 24 to 26kg, sold from $170 to$200/head. Export score 4 lambs, 26 to 30kg, sold from $179 to $212 and extra heavy export lambs over 30kg sold from to $236/head.

Mutton numbers were also back to 1,750 yarded, the quality was plain, not the weight on offer to see another much softer market to be around $10 to $20/head back on last week's levels in places. Merino ewes sold from $108 to $170/head averaging around 580c/kg cwt.Crossbred ewes sold from $106 to $174/head to average 530c/kg cwt. Merino wethers sold from $127 to $190/head to average around575c/kg cwt. Rams sold to $85/head