Lamb prices continue surge toward $12/kg

Some trade lambs are making in excess of $12/kg, but they have to meet the right specifications. Here’s the latest on the sky high lamb prices.

Lambs continue to make huge prices across southern Australian saleyards.

Lamb prices continue to smash records.

Both heavy and trade lambs are making more than $11/kg – prices once unprecedented – while light and Merino lambs are closing in on $10/kg.

But producers say lambs need to be making that money because of the cost of finishing them.

All of the Meat and Livestock Australia lamb price indicators have hit their highest ever levels this week and a new national record of $435 for a pen of heavy lambs was broken at Bendigo on Monday.

The heavy lamb indicator was at 1131c/kg carcass weight on Tuesday, up 67c/kg in a week and 325c/kg higher than the same time last year, while the trade lamb indicator was at 1102c/kg, up 51c/kg for the week and 307c/kg higher than last year.

The Merino lamb indicator was at 939c/kg on Tuesday, but hit its highest ever level of 947c/kg the previous day.

Meat and Livestock Australia market information analyst Emily Tan said the spike in prices was largely due to short supply.

“Producers are also struggling to get weight on animals, if they don’t have grain or crops available to feed, lambs aren’t being completely finished,” she said.

“We are hearing that it is a struggle for processors to find lambs above 35kg.”

Looking ahead Ms Tan said it was looking like there wouldn’t be the “numbers in the flock” so supply would continue to drive prices.

Robert Sheridan of Woodstock at Junee in southern NSW with some of his prime lambs. Picture: Nikki Reynolds

Robert Sheridan, who farms at Junee in southern NSW, said the current high lamb prices were unprecedented, but the cost of finishing lamb was also astronomically high.

He has sold consignments of extra heavy lambs at the Wagga Wagga saleyards for the past three weeks and has received prices as high as $368.30 for lambs weighing 33kg dressed.

“When you take into account that we are paying $400 a tonne plus for grain to finish the lambs, we need these current prices to subsidise the high feed prices,” he said.

“It is nearly impossible to get hay, too,” he said.

He won’t sell this week but plans to put more second-cross lambs through the market next week.

“I only have about 300 lambs left to go, and it is getting harder to grow them out to the heavy weights with the colder weather setting in,” he said.

Mr Sheridan said it was difficult to determine how long the run of high prices might last, and a lot of it related directly to specifications, too. He said the lambs simply had to have the weight in them to achieve the high prices.

Elders auctioneer Nigel Starick.

Elders Bendigo livestock manager Nigel Starick said the high prices were “quality driven”. “Some of the trade weight lambs on Monday were making more than the heavy lambs, with some in excess of $12/kg, if they were well-finished and supermarkets wanted them,” Mr Starick said.