Sheep & Cattle
Horsham
February 21. Yarding: 4950. Change: down 160.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Lambs: 3613. Change: up 81.
Sheep: 1337. Change: down 241.
There was a modest increase in lamb numbers to 3613 head this week at Horsham.
Quality was mostly good with trade weight and heavy lambs well supplied.
The usual buying group attended and operated in a dearer market, with quality shorn lambs selling $2 to $5/head up on last week.
The best heavy lambs sold to $200, with heavier trade weights selling from $149 to $163/head and averaging around 640c/kg cwt.
Unshorn young lambs made to $180, with the trade weights selling from $138 to $145/head.
Restocker lambs were limited in numbers and sold from $60 to $92/head.
The 1337 sheep yarded covered all weights and grades.
Sheep sold to keener demand to be a few dollars dearer.
Heavy crossbred ewes sold to $129/head.
Light weight 2 score lambs sold to $107/head.
Light trade weight 2 and 3 score lambs sold from $110 to $140/head and averaged around 650c/kg cwt.
Trade weight 3 and 4 score lambs sold from $140 to $149, with the heavier drafts selling from $149 to $163/head and ranged from 625c to 670c to average around 640c/kg cwt.
Heavy 3 and 4 score lambs sold from $160 to $193/head and averaged around 620c/kg cwt. The extra heavy export lambs sold from $199.50 to $200/head.
Heavy hoggets sold from $106 to $128/head. Light weight 1 and 2 score sheep sold from $46 to $76, with very light 1 scores selling from $20 to $55/head.
Medium weight 2 and 3 score sheep sold from $75 to $103/head and ranged from 350c to 410c, with a run of Merino mutton averaging around 400c/kg cwt.
Heavy Merino ewes sold from $98 to $118, heavy Merino wethers sold to $117 and the medium weights ranged from $82 to $104/head.
Heavy crossbred ewes sold from $104 to $129/head at around 350c/kg cwt. Rams sold from $10 to $61/head.
Ballarat
February 20
A total of 18,203 lambs were yarded, being similar numbers to last week.
Quality was average to very good with an excellent penning of heavy lambs and trade weight lambs yarded.
The usual buying group attended and operated in a generally firm market, with the heavy lambs selling $2 to $3/head up on last week.
More of the trade weight lambs are presenting in shorter skins than previous weeks.
The best extra heavy lambs made to $229, with the heavier trade weights selling from $143 to $168/head to average 630c/kg cwt.
Trade weight unshorn lambs sold from $130 to $168/head. Restockers and feeders were active with extra orders from Horsham and Gippsland operating.
Restocker lambs sold from $72 to $134/head. They also paid from $86 to $109/head for Merino wethers returning to the paddock.
Light weight 1 and 2 score lambs sold from $79 to $115/head.
Light trade 2 and 3 score lambs sold from $115 to $138/head and averaged 650c/kg cwt.
Trade weight 3 and 4 score lambs sold from $132 to $144 with the heavier drafts selling from $142 to $168/head, they made from 590c to 675c to average 630c/kg cwt.
Heavy 3 and 4 score lambs sold from $154 to $196/head and averaged 615c to 620c/kg cwt.
The extra heavy export lambs sold from $198 to $229/head.
Heavy hoggets sold from $82 to $149.50/head.
The 9303 sheep yarded covered all weights and grades, with some heavy runs of crossbred ewes and Merino wethers penned.
Most of the usual buying group attended but not all operated fully.
Merino wethers made to $136/head. More light weight sheep were penned this week.
Merino wethers sold dearer in places and, along with the heavy crossbred ewes, were to $10/head up on last week.
Light and medium sheep sold either side of firm.
Light weight 1 and 2 score sheep sold from $40 to $90 and averaged 350c/kg cwt.
Cattle
Warrnambool
February 21. Yarding: 1171. Change: up 143.
Prices were generally unchanged in the increased sized, mixed quality yarding that was offered to a mainly usual following of buyers.
The odd vealer was slightly dearer and crossbred grown steers showed a modest rise.
Not all buyers operated fully on export cattle, but trade competition was solid in the yarding of 297 grown steers, 409 young cattle and grown heifers, 421 cows and 44 bulls.
The C muscled vealers sold from 243c to 295c with a pen of six B2 steers at 300c/kg. Restockers paid from 250c to 285c and then from 245c to 270c/kg for their yearling replacements.
The few yearling heifers to processors made 230c to 254c/kg.
A leaner conditioned yarding of grown steers saw the C3 grade sell from 244c to 262c with C2's between 230c and 245c and an isolated sale at 252c/kg.
The D3 crossbred steers made 222c to 248c with the D2 grades from 203c to 222c and the D1's at 182c to 190c/kg. The C3 to C5 grown heifers made from 212c to 240c and the D2 grade made 190c, 202c and 208c/kg.
he E1 cows sold between 150c and 162c with poor quality from 100c to 135c/kg. The D1 cows made 155c to 175c and the D2 grade was between 180c and 204c/kg. The C3 to C5 beef cows sold from 207c to 215c/kg.
The few average quality B2 heavy weight bulls averaged 6c cheaper and made 215c to 230c but the D2 grade sold from 185c to 210c/kg and these were equal to last week.
Naracoorte
February 20. Yarding: 662. Change: down 317.
Numbers reduced by almost a third as agents yarded 662 head of live weight and open auction cattle.
These sold to the usual field of trade and processor buyers with the return of one buyer being balancing out with the absence of another in another mixed market.
Some good quality well-presented vealers came forward to receive a lift in price, while the remainder eased with quality again being a factor as signs of the season are more evident across the offering.
Vealer steers to the trade improved up to 8c in places as the trade operated from 255c to a high of 317c with the trade active on heifers from 254c to 314c/kg.
The market again benefitted with a strong local restocker active with vealer steers being grown on from 245c to 291c and feeder interest to 280c/kg.
Vealer heifers to restockers sold from 248c to 270c/kg. Only a small number of yearling steers were on offer with the trade active to 250c, feeders to 265c and restockers turned calves back to the paddock from 276c to 287c/kg.
Yearling heifers to the trade made from 226c to 260c with feeder support here from 240c to 259c and restockers operating to 261c/kg.
Grown steers and bullocks were a mixed bunch as they eased up to 7c to make from 225c to 260c with grown heifers from 204c to 259c and the few manufacturing steers between 196c and 222c/kg.
Cow numbers were similar to the previous week as the light weight types made from 170c to 192c as the heavier selection sold from 186c to a high of 206c, down 5c/kg.
Light weight bulls sold to a high of 235c with heavy bulls from 210c to 225c/kg.