CROSSBRED, composite and shedding lamb prices trended lower on AuctionsPlus last week as the online sheep and lamb offering increased.

AuctionsPlus said its sheep and lamb listings increased 20 percent last week to 53,610 head.

With winter in full force and the increase in supply, prices varied considerably across the AuctionsPlus indicative stock categories.

AuctionsPlus said while lambs observed a price decline in four out of the six categories, the clearance rates stayed healthy with the cheaper market. The only two lamb categories to report a rise in average prices were the Merino wether and ewe lambs. Merino wether lambs had the highest throughput for the week – with 12,467 head offered at a clearance rate of 80 percent. The category registered an $8 increase in average price to $141. Merino ewe lambs had the highest price increase for the week, averaging $231 for the 1689 head offered, up $44.

Joined ewes highly sought after

AuctionsPlus said joined ewes were highly sought after, with increased average prices across indicative classes and a record for the Australian White ewe offering was broken again. Recent rainfall and seasonality benefits have promoted healthy demand across the eastern states and certainly contributed to the strong clearance rates registered this week, the online platform said.

Average prices for crossbred, first cross ewes and shedding breed ewe lambs all fell – down $95, $22 and $184 respectively – for the 6620 head offered. Despite this, clearance rates were steady.

The online joined ewe offering increased last week, up to 24,027 head. Despite the high supply, demand for breeders was still strong, with clearances averaging 80pc across the relevant categories. Average prices for scanned in-lamb Merino ewes fell $4 to $250, and by $34 to $291 for SIL first cross ewes. The average price for joined shedding breed ewes rose $210 to $511 for the 1718 head offered. This was influenced largely by a record selling run of 9-11 month-old Australian White ewe lambs that made $994, breaking the previous week’s record of $988. These joined ewe lambs were weighted 55.9kg liveweight and were offered with the red Tattykeel Certified ear tags.

There was limited supply of unjoined ewe lines this week, with only one lot of Merino hoggets selling for $222, back $9 the previous week’s average price.

NOTE: Prices as at 5pm, Thursday 24th June, 2021