Store wether lambs from Collarenabri sold for $145.
The number of sheep and lambs offered exclusively on AuctionsPlus this week jumped 15%, to 96,643 head, with most of the increase attributable to a surge in crossbred and Merino wether lambs, with 20,052 head and 19,454 head offered, respectively.
Prices were again varied, along with clearance rates, especially for joined ewes.
The large jump in crossbred and Merino wether lambs had prices back slightly for both categories, with crossbred lambs averaging $161 for the week – down $9/head on last week.
Similarly, Merino wether lambs slipped $4, to average $139/head, with the 19,454 head offered registering an 80% clearance rate.
An indicative result from Tuesday National Lamb sale had 143 Merino store wether lambs, May-June 2020 drop and shorn in late February, averaging 33.1kg liveweight, sell for $122/head – or an estimated 368.6c/kg liveweight.
First cross ewe lambs averaged $7 dearer this week, at $242/head, despite the clearance rate falling to only 37%, compared to 57% in the previous week. Interestingly, clearance rates were also lower this week for SM Merino ewes and SIL first cross ewes, at 21% and 26%, respectively.
However, higher average prices for both ewe categories up $34 and $8/head, indicates that sellers were holding firm on reserve levels, while the buyers that did secure a sale were pushed higher on average than last week.
The highest clearance rate for the week was for NSM Merino hogget ewes, at 94% for the 2,346 head offered – with the average price for the week jumping $23, to $244/head.
An indicative result out of SA this week saw 241 SIL Poll Merino ewe hoggets average $328/head, equating to 480.9c/kg liveweight.
The line from Saddlesworth, SA were 22-23 months old, averaged 68.2kg liveweight and were shorn in August 2020.
The first ten days of autumn has seen some much-needed falls through several regions, most notably through very dry regions of WA, according to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.
While compared to 2020 the 2021 autumn break may not be as desperately needed, the extent of the autumn break always serves as an excellent guide to the remainder of the year – especially with the current flock rebuilding intentions in full swing.
-AuctionsPlus