Lamb prices are providing tight margins for producers as they battle dry conditions

Lamb producers say they hope buyers support, and don’t penalise them, as they struggle to get lambs to trade weights due to drought conditions.

Saleyard lamb prices have held firm on Thursday, leading into the Australia Day long weekend – a key time for BBQs and lamb chop eating.

It is also the time of year when Meat & Livestock Australia invests a chunk of levy payer’s fund into the Summer Lamb Campaign.

It comes as many southern producers are still trying to get lambs to saleable weights, amid a dry and difficult season, particularly in Victoria, and tight-to-poor margins.

Today Leann Dax, from the National Livestock Reporting Service, said prices were solid at the key sale in Wagga Wagga in NSW, with almost 34,000 yarded. But those numbers were down, leading into the Australia Day public holiday.

Lambs 20-24kg made $148-$204, averaging 780-790c/kg carcass weight and store lambs with some weight and frame fetched $100-$157.

NLRS reported not all export buyers operated, impacting heavier lambs returns.

Agents also reported supermarket buyers were not in attendance, but noting that was trend with supermarket buyers buying more out of the paddock, direct off-farm.

This comes as the National Trade Lamb Indicator lifted by a modest 5c/kg today, to 785c/kg, which is still 76c/kg above this time last year, but a distant memory from the 946c/kg average price being paid to lamb producers before Christmas.

In the retail space, today lamb was selling in Woolworths supermarkets for $43/kg for lamb cutlets – priced on the shelf at a regional Victorian supermarket.

Or, at $12.08 for a packet of four, around $3/cutlet.

Lamb on the shelves at Woolworths.

The last MLA annual report shows the advertising push from the summer lamb campaign in 2024 had achieved a “record audience reach”.

The ad campaign was part of a $23.5 million advertising spend for the Australian domestic market for red meat and the report noted last year’s ad generated a total of 24.8 million views, twice the number of any previous ads.

Riverina Livestock Agents director James Tierney said saleyard lamb prices this week were “not any better”.

“Look, they aren’t as dear as what it was (before Christmas) but it is OK, we would all like them to be a bit more,” he said.

Mr Tierney said the export market tended to “drive things as much as anything” and he was not convinced domestic advertising had a great impact.

“I’m not sure it does much, really,” he said.

“It is more to do with numbers (supply).

“Lamb has gotten cheaper as we get closer to Australia Day.

“It (advertising) didn’t seem to do much last year when prices were 480c/kg – numbers and supply do more to dictate prices than promotion.”

On supply, Mr Tierney thought supply was likely to hold “for the next couple of months, and then it might bite a bit”.

Victorian Farmers Federation livestock president Scott Young said he himself supplies supermarkets, but from a VFF perspective he “encouraged supermarkets to support producers (grids weights and prices) in Victoria, given the weather conditions we have dealt with in Victoria and hopefully they don’t penalise us for the drought conditions”.

“The market is under pressure now with volume for lambs at the moment, and a lot of challenges getting lambs to finished weights,” Mr Young said.

Generally speaking, across the sector there was “still a margin for us” but it “isn’t great due to the drought.” he said.

“Hopefully we get some forward pricing that is better in the next few months.”

Mr Young said it was important that the lamb industry continued to market its product domestically, and ensure as many export markets as possible were open to Australian lamb so that producers “got a good price for our product.”

Woolworths has been contacted for comment.