Bendigo sheep sale: High prices draw in large numbers
Rising prices for lambs has seen the biggest yarding for a sale so far this season in Bendigo today. Here’s what they sold for.
THERE was a packed yarding of 36,000 lambs at Bendigo today as the rising prices led to the biggest sale held so far this spring.
The market gained a further $20 a head in places.
Full field of meat buyers competed at Bendigo as there was no NSW markets today due to a public holiday in that state.
Pushing trade buyers were specialist lamb finishers from Ballarat, with agencies TB White, Nutrien and Elders paying more than $200 a head for bigger-framed lambs to shear and return to the paddock.
Compared to last Monday, the good trade and export lambs were $12 to $20 dearer as the market caught up to the dearer rates that emerged across Victoria and NSW late last week.
The heaviest suckers over 28kg carcass made from $240 to a top of $259.
Underneath this good heavy trade lambs, 24-26kg, fetched from $190 to $218.
The average for the best run of crossbreds in this weight bracket was $210.
The good 22-24kg suckers made $175 to $205 for most.
Medium processing lambs, 20-22kg, attracted bids of $160 to $188.
Across the yarding there was a price spread of 750c to 880c/kg, partly due quality which was more mixed this week for both breed type and carcass finish.
Meat buyers targeted better-shaped second-cross lambs which sold to better demand over the plainer suckers bred out of Merino ewes.
As a guide, the neater sucker lambs to processors averaged between 800c to 830c/kg, with the higher rate achieved for ideal domestic lambs sized between 21 and 23kg cwt.
Smaller lambs to the paddock and for MK orders were $135 to $159.
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