A consignment of forward lambs bumped numbers up to 4100, with good line sizes offered. Males topped the section at $114, though a number of other lines returned $100-$111, with most lambs trading for $82-$108. Prime lambs held their own, with steady prices at $91-$129, while ewe numbers hit minimum levels, and prices firmed, with most making $95-$129, while very heavy types returned $130-$151.
Cattle numbers lifted to 680 head, and 200 of these were cows. Short kill weeks and increased numbers saw prices ease, with good beef cow’s lines making $2.00-$2.08/kg, and dairy, $1.64-$1.75/kg. Heavy steers, 600-644kg, made $2.82-$2.86/kg, while forward beef stores, 412-473kg, returned $3.22-$3.32/kg. Heifers were of mixed quality, and high yielding types made $2.72-$2.80/kg, with dairy lines mainly trading at $2.40-$2.60/kg.
In contrast the store cattle market was red hot, as local demand drove prices higher. Annual draft Angus cows, vetted-in-calf to an Angus bull, flew past last year’s price of $1000, to finish at $1280-$1300. R2 Hereford-Friesian, 352-386kg, made $3.35-$3.42/kg, with Hereford heifers, 306-347kg, earning $3.23-$3.33/kg. A consignment of quality beef-cross weaners also met keen bidding, with heifers, 141-177kg, at $580-$710, and steers, 156-207kg, $645-$720.
