‘Everything is cheaper than a month ago, but there’s a bit of life in the store market’

Livestock prices have held on for much of spring despite the season tightening, but the gap between the best cattle and secondary lines is growing.

The sting in a dry spring is starting to hit livestock prices, which have fallen for both prime sheep and cattle in early markets this week.

Both of the key indicators for lamb – trade and heavy categories – remain above 800 cents a kilogram carcass weight, closing at 811c/kg and 841c/kg after early sales this week.

But lamb rates have come off their high of up to 900c/kg carcass weight set late last month as bigger numbers start to flow and quality is mixed given the tight season.

And it’s all red ink for prime cattle with some losing up to 28c/kg liveweight in the past month and the benchmark Eastern Young Cattle Indicator closing 10c/kg down early this week at 604c/kg carcass weight.

But Corcoran Parker director Justin Keane said while prime prices may have come off their highs of a month ago, they were still solid.

Mr Keane said the best quality and heavier cattle going to processors were still making good prices, though the gap between these and secondary lines was growing.

“Everything is cheaper than a month ago, but there’s a bit of life in the store market which we’ve seen over the past week, and really the prices are going OK given the season,” Mr Keane said.

The price difference between finished and underdone lambs was clear at Corowa, NSW, lamb sale on Monday, where National Livestock Reporting Service market reporter Caroline Ronald said quality of some stock was affected as the supply region dried off.

Yet the best lambs still made up to 848c/kg carcass weight, Ms Ronald said.

There was a lift of up to $10 for mutton at Corowa on Monday, as processors continue to opt to use an increasing share of their small stock killing space for sheep.