The Dean family with their $500 lambs, from left, Darren and grandson Bobby, Geoff and Lynn Dean, and Kristen with granddaughter Poppy. Image – TB White & Sons.

HEAVY export lambs made a new national record of $500 at Ballarat yesterday as the lamb market remained strong despite Middle East impacts of the United State-Israel war on Iran.

At the Central Victorian Livestock Exchange, TB White and Sons auctioneer Gerry White sold 70 10-month-old homebred Poll Dorset cross lambs to Thomas Foods International for the record price  for client Darren Dean from Tourello north of Ballarat.

Mr Dean said the mixed farming family operation was also the first in Australia to crack $400 for lambs last year.

The lambs had an estimated carcase weight of 45kg, and were bred from bought-in northern bred first cross ewes by Mallee Park Poll Dorset rams.

“They were our first lot this year, so I just put them in to test the waters, to see what the market was doing.”

Mr Dean said it just took time and consistent feeding to get the lambs to those weights, initially pasture, but then a lucerne crop, with Faba beans in feeders and dry lucerne hay after weaning.

“We pop a bit of tucker into them.

“It gives you confidence going forward, but I think it’s just a numbers thing, because a lot (of farmers) sold ewes last year they couldn’t hold onto them because of the dry conditions; so I would say it’s just a numbers game at the moment.”

But Mr Dean said it was hard to say if lambs at these values would bring farmers back into sheep.

“It’s hard to say, I think a lot of the young ones like the cropping games, because it’s a lot easier, there isn’t the same workload … you’ve got to be there nearly every day.

“There is always something with sheep, isn’t there?”

TB White & Sons livestock manager Xavier Bourke said the lamb market has been relatively unaffected by the Middle East war, apart from processors doing less airfreight with light lambs. But restockers and feedlots have taken up any slack in demand.

“The problem is there are no light lambs around, because we had such a good season we’ve got no numbers – numbers in Victoria are down at least 20-30pc,

“If we had more numbers like two years ago, yes, we would be affected, but you are not seeing it because of the low numbers.”

Mr Bourke said processors are now releasing contracts of $12-$12.50/kg cwt for winter supply for heavy lambs, indicating the current high prices will continue.

He said the impact of ewe sales last year on lamb supply is also showing in the market.

“From February to July last year there was a power of mutton sold (ewes) which these abattoirs processed and this year there is no mutton around, so if they want to process something, they have to do more lamb.

“And the availability of lambs is not there because we sold so many pregnant ewes last year because of the dry conditions – water, feed and hay were issues.”

So is $500 the upper limit for heavy lambs?

Mr Bourke said the new mark is like any record “it’s a barrier, once it gets hit or broken you seem to see it get broken again.”

He said there were 10-12 sales in Ballarat yesterday over $400, with many producers averaging $300-$320 over their entire lamb runs.

Meat & Livestock Australia’s National Livestock Reporting Service was quoting the heavy lamb indicator at 1103c/kg this morning. The trade lamb indicator was at 1170c/kg, with the light lamb indicator at 1139c/kg and the restocker indicator at 1207c/ktg.