Nutrien auctioneer Jim Wilson selling lambs at Bendigo. Source – Nutrien, Facebook.

SECONDARY lambs are still attracting strong competition in saleyards, but this will change as winter approaches and processors limit capacity or close for maintenance, according to Nutrien Bendigo auctioneer Jim Wilson.

Mr Wilson said Bendigo’s weekly lamb sale was fully firm today, helped by the lack of sales at Dubbo and Corowa in New South Wales due to the Anzac Day holiday.

“Some of our lighter MK processing lambs, especially Merinos, might have even been a shade dearer.

“Our heavy lambs were unchanged, I think we had a top of about $447, with all our heavies at around $10.80-$11.30/kg cwt.”

He said some isolated lines of polished trade lambs made $12/kg or a bit better.

Mr Wilson said the 10,600 lambs and 1970 sheep in Bendigo would be one of the lighter yardings in years. Most major supermarket, export and domestic lamb buyers attended the sale.

The National Livestock Reporting Service quoted price averages down $15-$20/head for heavy fed lambs with just occasional sales able to hold the levels of last week. Mr Wilson said this might have reflected earlier sales, but lamb rates later in the sale were unchanged around quality on last week’s market.

However, he said the heavy sheep market was back $15-$20/head, with major buyer Fletcher Internal Exports not operating, and some trade sheep $10 cheaper and light sheep back $5-$10.

Sheep Central has been told some processor buyers are increasingly being told to not go above lower lamb price and order volume limits as winter approaches.

However, Mr Wilson said he expected in the next 3-4 weeks to see the impact of processors cutting slaughter capacity and organizing for winter maintenance periods.

“The market for the right lambs will still be good, but for any off lambs, it will definitely come back.”

At the moment, Mr Wilson said even some of the rougher trade weight lambs were being supported by feedlot competition.

“So if you’ve got a rough 23-24kg lamb, they are still making $260-$270.”

Lighter lambs are also meeting strong competition.

“There are not a lot of crossbred lambs making below $210-$220.”

Mr Wilson said Bendigo Livestock Exchange’s supply area has had a good start to the season, but farmers desperately needed rain in the next week to ten days to continue pasture and crop growth.

“They’re talking a bit of rain next week, but if we don’t get that we’re going to have to start feeding again.”

The NLRS said more heavy fed lambs sold from $10-$11/kg cwt. The sub-25kg cwt trade lambs performed around quality at $10.70-$11.30/kg generally, but some stand-out lines of really neat lambs in the 20-23kg cwt range made $12/kg. A pen of super-heavy weight lambs over 40kg cwt made $447/head. The balance of the export weighted lambs sold from $330-$390/head, with the heavy 26-30kg cwt crossbred lambs making $290-$334. Best tradeweight lambs sold from $270-$298, with the general run at $240-$275 with some feeder support active. The NLRS said fed Merino lambs in a good skin sold to $294 to match the crossbreds; however, a lot of the leaner and lighter Merinos sold back to restockers at $170-$236. Decent light weight lambs made $170-$220.

The NLRS said the sheep market was cheaper by $5-$20/head. The estimated range for most mutton was 700-780c/kg cwt. A pen of super heavy meat ewes sold for $304, and two exporters chased a small pen of extremely heavy hoggets out to $330. Most heavy ewes made $220-$270, with  Merinos topping at $260. Decent light and leaner trade sheep mostly made $150-$210.