There was concern that the market would drop, but that was put to rest as a number of people with small orders consolidated to a good buying bench. The market overall did soften but not to the extent that was expected, and there was pockets of good strength throughout the yarding.
The first row of lambs sold to as many different buyers as there were pens. Good cryptorchid and mixed sex lambs traded at $90-$92.50, while a similar weighted line of rams returned $97. Light-medium lambs made similar levels across all classes, trading at $79-$85, while lighter types made up the biggest portion of the yarding and sold for $47-$78.
Ewe's proved harder to shift, especially if they had lambs on them. A line of very woolly 2-4 tooth ewes looked buy-able at $117, with the older ewes making $104. Most ewes with lambs sold for $72-$85 all counted.
Cattle numbers also reduced significantly and the sale consisted of standalone feature lines. Bids had to be coaxed out of local buyers as paddocks dry up fast and very little in the way of rain is on the radar.
A feature line of well-bred 1-year Angus heifers were a highlight, with these well-presented animals selling locally for breeding at $1250, $2.98/kg. Regular buyers picked up the only big line of 2-year Angus steers, 552kg, for $3.02/kg, though these were bettered by a good line of Limousin-cross, 535kg, at $3.09/kg. Also of note was a line of 18-month Angus & Angus-Hereford steers, which were good shopping at $2.71/kg for 433kg.
The 1-year Friesian bull section was the biggest but proved to be the hardest to sell, with most lines sold subject though all bar one sold by sale end. A heavy line at 420kg sold for $2.62/kg, while 377kg matched Feilding prices at $2.77/kg.
An unusual sight in these yards was dairy-beef weaner's, and prices matched the quality as the bulls, 78-95kg, sold for $435-$470, and heifers, 82kg, $420.
Friesian cows carried on the dairy theme, with empty cows making $1.99/kg, and two younger pens that were run-with-bull, $2.03-$2.06/kg.
