The sheep section had some decent line sizes and the buying bench had a very familiar feel to it, with most of the regular players in action.
Compared to the last sale two weeks ago the lamb market had a softer tone as the top lambs sold for $143-$152, with heavy types making $130-$140. Medium type’s made up the biggest portion of the yarding and returned $110-$129.
Mutton is still enjoying a very positive run and the market reflected that confidence. Good to heavy ewes sold on a steady market at $120-$144, with results similar for medium and medium-good at $103-$118. There was more of a tail to the yarding with light ewes making $65-$88.
In the rostrum heifer and steer volumes were very low – a situation that has become all too familiar. The only real heifer numbers were in the boner pens, where lesser quality Friesian, 365-455kg, traded at just $2.02-$2.08/kg.
A small offering of Friesian bulls, 555-585kg, firmed to $2.93-$2.96/kg, while one very heavy Simmental nearly hit $3000 as it traded at $2.70/kg. Jersey, 517-538kg, also made good returns at $2.77-$2.84/kg.
Beef cows and the high yielding dairy cows are still requiring upwards of $2.20/kg to secure, and a line of Angus-cross, 453kg, achieved $2.32/kg. Large numbers of manufacturing cows took pressure off the buyers and prices generally eased. The top Friesian, 596-665kg, sold to $2.20-$2.22/kg, though second cuts, 495-594kg, mostly traded at $1.90-$2.01/kg.
