Cowra lamb buyers bidding.

STRONGER buyer competition at Bendigo and Corowa saleyards today put a question mark on summer lamb contract prices shy of $12/kg as processors bid over $12-$13/kg for quality trade and export lambs.

At the Bendigo saleyard, Meat & Livestock Australia’s National Livestock Marketing Service prices gains $10-$30/head for a lot of lambs.

The Bendigo agents yarded 7650 sheep, 130 fewer than last week, and 15,980 lambs, 2150 fewer.

NLRS market reporter Jenny Kelly said any well-finished heavy lambs were keenly supported, taking export weight young lambs back over the $400/head mark.

The lamb yarding comprised 10,000 new season lambs and the balance shorn or old season, with some agents starting to lead their runs with recently shorn young lambs.

The NLRS said the estimated average cost of good trade and heavy lambs was $11-$11.80/kg cwt to processors, with some pens making more than $12-$13/kg cwt as the market gained a fair bit of pace mid-sale on the best lambs. Ms Kelly said the market favoured lambs with weight and good fat cover. Store lambs were dearer, especially bigger one-mark lines of small but well-bred types in the 12-16kg cwt range that averaged $20/head up.  Export weight young lambs sold from $360-$409 and the best heavy 26-30kg cwt young lambs made $302-$365. Heavy trades made $266-$310.

Ms Kelly said the main run of 22-24kg cwt young lambs sold for $233-$288, improving $15/head as the estimated cost to processors went over $11kg cwt again. Nicely presented shorn young lambs with weight and good fat cover made $290-$368, or costing $11/kg-plus.

Restockers from Bendigo, Horsham and Ballarat paid from $190- $226/head for store lambs with frame, and $160-$200 for smaller young lambs.

Most mutton grades sold $5-$20 dearer, with heaviest ewes starting off at around 680c/kg. but most weights and grades averaged 700-760c/kg cwt, with some light ewes closer to 800c/kg.  Heaviest ewes made $230-$295 and rams sold to a top of $274. Most trade to heavy ewes made $170-$230 and the lightest ewes $93-$145

Corowa lambs up $7-$13

At the Corowa saleyards today, the NLRS said the agents penned an extra 3320 sheep and lambs with 8800 new season lambs on offer. Quality and finish improved with most lambs in the medium to heavy trade slot, and more of pens above 26kg and the occasional lot over 30kg.

The NLRS said the regular buyers operated in a dearer market and restockers from the south joined the local buyers operating on the large offering of store lambs.

New season trade lambs were firm to $7 dearer with all domestic processors taking a market share. Light and medium trade lambs gained $7 selling between $213-$253. Heavy trade up to 26kg were firm making between $251-$308 to average 1108c/kg cwt. Heavy new season lambs jumped $13 to $325-$341, with over 30kg lambs reaching $350. A large portion of light and medium new season trade lambs went to a feedlot buyer at $183-$245. Restockers paid $160-$209. The few pens of shorn new season trade lambs sold from $239-$270. Quality was very good across the mutton run with all weights and grades on offer. The market gained $10 to $30. Heavy crossbred ewes sold from $214-$301 with Merinos made to $275.

Source – MLA NLRS.