Sheep Central market columnist Chris Howie.

FIRST cross ewes to $620, Merinos to $515, new season lambs to $398 and cast for age ewes averaging around $350 for mutton – Sheep Central livestock markets columnist Chris Howie charts what’s behind the latest price movements.

I stopped to look at a recent Wagga sheep sale where new seasons suckers topped at $398.

It seems like that bit of extra work to chip off the lead has been paying great dividends for a lamb that might be 4-5 months old. It’s nothing new of course, but the store second cross suckers were consistent at $220+ and good trade to light export suckers $225-$330. Speaking to Tim Drum from RLA, Wagga, he said the mothers of those lambs averaged about $350 as mutton in the same sale.

As reported across rural press and radio on the same day, we saw 198 first cross ewes May/June ‘25 drop from the Golder Family sold at West Wyalong make $620. The kicker is the entire consignment of 600 ewes averaged $607.

Before we all say that’s ridiculous, let’s do the sums. If a buyer is paying that much I expect the operation knows what they are doing. Conservatively, use 1.3 lambs x $300 = $390 + the cast for age ewe at $250 = $640. That makes the purchase price work; however, if you are going to fully restock a property those numbers are fraught with danger.

Hay sheep sale

The recent Hay annual sheep sale was a great day for the Merino sheep industry. I spoke to Ron Rutledge, Nutrien Livestock southern zone, who attended the sale. Just under 20,000 ewes were yarded compared to 33,000 last year and the entire yarding averaging $376. Lead drafts topped at $515 with the majority of better ewes solidly in the $300-$400 range. Ron said the buyers were very reluctant to bid early on each lot; however, the requirement to buy replacements saw hands raised. Only three lots went outside of the Riverina, with many buyers substituting Merinos for their normal first cross ewe purchases in expectation of elevated prices. Ron also raised that many breeders are also keeping their young cull ewes on the back of the feed season.

Grass seed is here

The potential for grass seed in lambs is again the discussion. Barley and spear grass added to corkscrew are all in abundance and we are only days from seed set. Tim Francis, H. Francis and Co, Wagga raised that even though we continue to lift awareness of the discounts, many producers get caught out. This is often not in the paddock, but in the lane way or the sheep yards when sheep brought in for drafting. Andrew Hosken did a run from Tamworth to Booligal and across. He mentioned it is the worst seed season he has seen since the 80s. In recent days, northern NSW and the marginal SA country has hayed off very quickly.

For the processors who align to the United States and other export markets, seed is an issue that cannot be ignored. Under the import protocols of the USDA, seed is treated as faecal matter with a zero tolerance. Penalties on seed are not about making more money, but trying to stop consignments with seed arriving in the first place.

Lamb feedlot representation

It must be time for the lamb feed lotting industry to elevate in a more formal manner. Various processors are getting to the final stages of hook tracking, Intramuscular fat (IMF) is coming as a marketing opportunity to create a premium eating Meat Standards Australia graded product and genetics are aligning to what the consumer wants.

If we look at wine and Wagyu beef, they are products that reflected what the consumer is prepared to pay. In a Melbourne restaurant recently, I saw one of my favourite wines from the Barossa on the menu, a Kalleske Moppa, that sells for $30 at the cellar door. At over $100 a bottle in the restaurant, I decided to drink mine when I got home and stuck to beer. My point is; lamb and sheep meat is heading towards a defining moment as we create premium product and the ability to trace all the way back to genetics. The faster the lamb feedlot industry has serious representation like the Australian Lot Feeders Association, the better the industry will be is my view.

Stock water innovations

When times are good and water is plentiful it is the time to plan for the next drought. Renovate your water systems, run some new pipe, tanks on a dam with a trough, make or clean contour banks, anything is better than doing nothing.

In the last two droughts, the most evident issue has been the lack of water brings a must-sell moment. For many years, the large pastoral leases have seen the benefits of taking water to the stock and utilising all of the feed. With solar pumps, wifi and remote water systems, the cost saved on checking waters should be reinvested on an annual basis. Whether it be sheep or cattle, the less they walk for water, the more time they spend grazing.

Store livestock – the feed available and the lower numbers have seen store stock holding value. Before the last rain in the South we saw a bit of a dip but this quickly rallied and added more to an already strong price range. The same has happened in the north with store cattle. I am not privy to what contracts are in place or how long some stock will be held but current store prices seem to be squeezing potential margins if the stock don’t hit the top slot of a kill or feedlot order.

Wild dog impacts

After writing about this problem, I have had a number of chats about the damage being inflicted. Every state is now being impacted, especially in the sheep areas, yet we seem to have elevated the wild dog to some form of celebrity status in the city.

In every state, (don’t know about Tassie) this problem is getting out of control, not to mention the spread of wild pigs, which are now being spotted in the Flinders Ranges where they have never been. Imagine if main stream media showed the footage of sheep after dogs have been on the hunt, or wild pigs grabbing lambs at a dam.

When I read an article on the NSW parliamentary enquiry into dingoes and wild dogs in national parks I thought it was a Two Ronnie’s skit. Chaired by an Animal Justice Party MP, it has been determined that more science is needed to understand how controlling dogs impacts behaviour. Oh my god – all of these studies have been done over and over with the same outcome – whether in pack families or alone, dogs still kill live stock.

The season, the daughter and staying busy

Who ever knew not working full time could make someone so busy. Anyone with a daughter getting married soon will understand.

The triangle from Hawer in the Flinders Ranges to Warrnambool to Wagga is potentially the best widespread season I have seen. Stock feed has bulk and it was rare to see a bad crop in the entire drive. Canola seems to be the biggest planting and if the early prices are locked away may pay handsomely. Some of the faba bean crops look like small pine tree plantations. Great opportunity with the beans to fatten lambs or sell the option to someone.

Cattle sales

I called into Mortlake for the Victorian young auctioneer competition and watched the fat sale two weeks ago. Fat stock in good order were in high demand, with best cows at $4.35/kg lwt, best heavy Friesian cows at $3.98/kg and clean bulls in the high $4/kg range. At Barnawartha the following day, cows made to $4.38/kg; however, the southern centres are still the kings on bull pricing.

For those with EU accreditation, the current orders have been well and truly rewarding both store and finished cattle. As we know, the EU orders can ebb and flow, but this is the same with all specialist markets. The beauty of the EU job is no one cares about the colour of the coat as long as they hit their fat cover and dentition specs. Very worth looking at implementing EU accreditation within your operation.

Northern live cattle export

I noticed the live export market out of the north has rallied. With prices touching the low $4/kg, the potential to push higher for any period is starting to meet some serious buyer resistance. With orders in play to meet next year’s Lebaran dates at the end of Ramadan, the balancing act is supply and available ships. Most exporters have their shipping charters covered, but the availability of ‘spot charters’ is tight, which restricts the impact of an unscheduled ship dropping into the market.

BeefEx

The biennial BeefEx run by the Australian Lot Feeders Association is on this week. Even if you are not attending, follow the event on your socials, as the content will be very worthwhile if you are a cattle breeder.

With expected grain harvest in the south being a bumper and forecasts showing cattle on feed moving towards two million over the next five years, the outlook is very positive.

Ration cost can be the difference between margin and loss in this industry. Hay values have also plummeted with a huge hay season now in full swing. The science behind getting cattle to convert efficiently is now measurable at a carcase level with systems like MLA’s myFeedback, Black Box and others.

The benefit of the feedlot industry for all of us is it rewards both ways – continuity of product and supply to the processor and supply chain orders from weaners onwards for the producer. Understanding livestock performance is now essential at all levels; it’s not just a quirky innovation. Genetic and paddock/feedlot performance will be held to account more and more in the coming years.

Vale Gavin O’Sullivan

Not many who drive in Australia have not crossed paths with an O’Sullivans Transport semi. The respect show to Gavin O’Sullivan Friday week ago was quite humbling. Without doing an accurate count, I estimate nearly 3000 attended the service at Elmore. All parts of the livestock industry were represented with distance not being an obstacle to attend. RIP Gavin

Opportunities

 Don’t fill your lambs up with seed – simples

 Take a breath and let the store job settle a bit

 Merinos with a start in the skin – great opportunity

 Shear seep before sale – 6 weeks before if possible

 Cows and calves to split

 Improve your water systems – thank me next drought

 Market your sale stock well – they are worth plenty