SIL first cross ewes registered the only price rise for the joined ewe categories, with the 3,180 head listed averaging $326/head – up $46.
From Gundagai, NSW, a line of 136 Border Leicester/Merino ewes (pictured) aged 11-12 months, weighing 47kg SIL to Poll Dorset rams returned $354/head.
Merino wether lambs registered the biggest offering for the lamb categories, with 7,511 head, averaging $118/head – back $2 on the previous week.
Post-sale negotiations saw the clearance rate rise from a subdued 19% at the immediate closure of the sale, to 43% by Thursday evening.
A line of 246 store wether lambs weighing 36kg lwt from Ledcourt, Victoria, returned $136/head.
Merino ewe lambs recorded a spike in numbers this week, at 1,686 head – up 86% on last week. Selling from $181 to $200, averaging $191/head – back $45 on last week, the category achieved the strongest lamb clearance at the immediate close of sale, at 52%.
Composite/other breed lambs experienced the only price jump for the lamb categories this week, up $10, to average $157/head. The 3,415 head achieved a 64% clearance.
The breeding ewe market for the week saw all bar one category ease on last week, with clearance rates mixed. SIL Merino ewes, with 12,498 head offered, achieved a 67% clearance, up from 49% at the immediate closure of sale, averaging $224/head – back $16.
A line of 65 rising six-year-old Poll Merino ewes, weighing 69kg lwt, SIL to Border Leicester rams from Mundulla, SA, returned $244/head.
SIL shedding breed ewes registered a 90% clearance, up from 84% at the immediate closure of sale – the highest for the joined ewe categories. Averaging $396/head for the 2,722 head offering – prices eased $192 on last week.
Non station mated Merino ewes saw 1,673 head offered for the week, back 23% on last week. Achieving the biggest price rise for the week, the category averaged $200 – up $51/head. From Conargo, NSW, a line of 188 three-to-four-year-old scanned empty ewes, weighing 72kg lwt returned $200/head.