Byaduk lamb producers Adam and Daniel Mirtschin with their $12 a kg-plus lambs sold at Hamilton through Lanyons yesterday.

AUSTRALIA’S trade and heavy lamb indicators have pushed through $10/kg carcase weight together this week for the first time in the history of recording by Meat & Livestock Australia’s National Livestock Reporting Service.

Driven by scarce supply and strong domestic and export demand, processors battling to keep chains going have been forced to pay increased prices in saleyards and put out forward contracts, while competing against feedlot restockers.

The trade lamb indicator has batted well over $9/kg several times in recent years and some state trade lamb indicators have exceeded $10/kg a few times since 2021 – in September 2021 in Tasmania the all-time trade lamb indicator record was set at 1081c/kg and in Victoria two weeks it was at 1053c/kg.

However, MLA’s market information manager Stephen Bignell said this week was the first time that the national trade and heavy lamb indicators both topped $10/kg simultaneously.

MLA senior market information analyst Erin Lukey said the national trade lamb indicator finished at 1012c/kg (not adjusted for CPI) for the first time yesterday and today it closed at 1032c/kg, with the national heavy lamb indicator at 1008c/kg.

Incredibly, some producers who a week earlier agreed to supply 22-32kg cwt lambs to the Australian Lamb Company at Colac for $10.30/kg over the next month found themselves behind saleyard rates of $11-$13/kg.

Meat & Livestock Australia’s NLRS said as heavy export lambs at the Central Victorian Livestock Exchange at Ballarat on Tuesday matched the centre’s recent record high price of $399/head and heavy trades were the dearest category in cents per kilogram carcases weight terms ar up to $331/head.

The NLRS said the price average for 17,681 lambs sold was $219 per head, up on the average of $188 for 21,339 lambs sold a week ago. Overall there was a spread of 900-1100c/kg over a lot of trade and heavy processing lambs, with the main run of heavy lambs estimated as costing processors 1000-1050c/kg cwt and heavy 26-30kg cwt lambs from $285 to $328/head. The NLRS said the hot spot of the sale was for neat 24-26kg cwt heavy trade lambs that ranged from 1100-1300c/kg to average an estimated 1200c/kg at $275 to $331/head. At the same sale the limited run of heavier mutton still with reasonable fat cover were dearer at 700-800c/kg cwt.

Charles Stewart and Co agent at Ballarat Jamie McConachy said agents knew lamb prices were going to get dearer.

“But we didn’t know it was going to get that dear that quick.”

Mr McConachy said he was in no doubt that the saleyard indicators for trade and heavy lambs have pushed through $10/kg together this week.

“I just heard the Hamilton reports and they are quoting lambs at $13.60/kg today.

“Yesterday we didn’t see those extremes, but I can assure you that $12/kg was very common on the right type of lamb,” he said.

“For those guys who last Friday took our contract at ALC for $10.30/kg and thought they were kicking big goals and I heartily supported that rate … it seemed pretty good money, then what has happened this week has hit us by complete surprise, to be honest.

“To jump that high that quick – we were seeing 25kg cwt lambs making $12/kg.”

Although he was unsure of how the advent of processor maintenance shutdowns might impact prices, Mr McConachy believed available supplies would allow producers with lambs to sell to have a very lucrative winter.

“I can’t see it disappearing very far; there are just too many competitors in the market and the lamb numbers are just about buggered.

“Yesterday Ballarat’s lamb yarding dropped under 20,000 for the first time this season,” he said.

“It could be as low as 15,000 next week and that drop will continue, we are just running out.

“But I think there will be some type of balancing act between supply and demand,” Mr NcConachy said.

“What we saw this week and what’s been happening again at Hamilton and Horsham, we may not see that continuing on, but we may see $11/kg and $12/kg becoming common.”

Hamilton trade lambs sell to $13.60/kg

At the Hamilton saleyards today, the NLRS said after substantial rainfall over the long weekend in the Western District, numbers decreased to 6800 lambs, down 1200, and 5500 sheep, down 4500. It was a very strong sale throughout, with most lambs selling $20-$25/head dearer, and more in places, the NLRS said.

Lambs to the trade generally made 1100-1360c/kg cwt and a pen of extra heavy lambs topped the market at $357/head for an estimated 33kg cwt, the NLRS said.  Feeder and restocker competition was also very strong, with prices up by $25, and these lambs making 1030-1160c/kg supported by local restockers and interstate orders. Light 12=16 kilogram lambs sold for $130-$199/head and 18-22 kg lines made $212-$291. The 22-26 kg lambs sold from $260-$309. Mutton sold $20-$25/head dearer in places, with sheep making 750-850c/kg cwt.

Hamilton saleyard veteran Lanyons agent Warren Clark said today’s sale was the dearest he had seen in his life. He had never seen the heavy and trade lamb indicators top $10/kg together.

“I have never experienced a market like this.

“There were plenty of lambs here making $12/kg.”

And as to how long could these prices be sustained, Mr Clark said:

“You just work it out, we’re at the second week in June, we’ve got the two worst months of the lambing period to come in July and August, so it isn’t going to get any cheaper.

“Where are they going to get them from?” he said.

“A few of the processors will close for maintenance, that’s fine, but your Coles and Woolworths can’t close.”

Mr Clark said processors are still trying to fill export contracts.

“I keep saying, you don’t have to live in big flash houses or drive expensive cars, but what has the world got to do, the world has to eat.

“And we are in a fortunate position that we are in the cleanest and greenest country in the world.”

Mr Clark agreed producers needed the current high prices to counter the high feed costs of the drought.

“The thing that is different from this drought than previous droughts is that they are getting extremely well paid for your commodity.”

But Mr Clark said the high prices for lambs, low flock numbers and the number of pregnant ewes and ewe lambs that have been sold will “come back and bite us in the spring.”

“There will be no (lamb) numbers and trying to buy restocking sheep … in the spring when all the first cross ewe sales are normally on, a lot of those fellows have already sold their ewe lambs when they were getting $250 and they had no feed.”

He had told clients to expect to pay $500 for top crossbred ewes, although this would be offset by the high lamb and mutton prices.

“But it is going to be the scarcity of trying to get them too.”

Byaduk prime lamb producer Lloyd Mirtschin and sons Daniel and Adam sold 28 White Suffolk/Merino lambs estimated at 17kg cwt for $209, or about $12.30/kg, and 32 Southdown cross lambs, estimated at 17kg cwt for $212, or about $12.50/kg, in the Hamilton sale. The lambs were the last of his 2024 drop lambs to be sold.

Mr Mirtschin said it was the first time he had been paid $12/kg for lambs.

“That is unbelievable and that is where it should be for pensioners like me.”

At Horsham today, the NLRS said lambs sold generally from $10-$30/head dearer, with quality short skin trade weight lines up to $40/head dearer in places. The medium and heavy trade weight lambs sold from $208-$292 to average 1085c and the heavy weight lambs made $310-$357/head to average 1010c/kg cwt. The best of the Merino lambs sold to $320, and others made $160-$250, ranging from 970-1025c/kg cwt. Feeders paid from $61 to $175 for lambs and paid $83/head for a large pen of shorn light weight Merino wethers. The NLRS said light trade weight lambs sold from $188-$238 to average 1065c/kg cwt and medium trade weights made $208-$265, or around averaged 1070c/kg cwt. Heavy trade weight lambs sold from $262-$292 and averaged 1095c/kg cwt. Export weight lambs sold from $282 to $296/head and averaged 1045c/kg cwt. The Horsham sheep sold $20-$30/head dearer in places.