Lambs fetch record-breaking price at Wagga Wagga

Lamb values have hit a new national record at a Riverina sale where the top price surged past $440. See the results.

A pen of lambs at Wagga Wagga has smashed the national record, hitting a whopping $440.20 on Thursday morning.

The lambs beat the previous national record price of $435, only set at Bendigo on Monday.

The case of two records in a week has left livestock agents and vendors questioning how high the market can go with prices up to $25 higher at Wagga Wagga.

The Mickan Brothers of Walla Walla in southern NSW received the top money for their 101 second-cross Poll Dorset lambs that weighed 80.3 kilograms liveweight after a 22-hour curfew.

Garry, and sons Jason and Daniel are no strangers to high prices and had sold a consignment of lambs last month to Southern Meats at Goulburn for an average of $409 with one stand-out lamb returning a high of $520.

David Hill from Albury, Garry and Jason Mickan of Walla Walla in southern NSW have set a new national lamb record of $440.20 at the Wagga Wagga sheep and lamb market. They are pictured with Elders Wagga Wagga livestock agents Will McLachlan, and Adam Boyd. Picture: Supplied

Earlier this week the same vendors sold lambs at Corowa for $420.

Livestock agent David Hill from Albury said the record lambs that sold at Wagga Wagga on Thursday had an estimated dressed weight of 41kg.

“They met the market specifications and were finished on grain,” Mr Hill said.

The lambs were purchased by Thomas Foods International with Southern Meats the losing bidder.

In a show of how strong the Wagga Wagga market was the lambs were second last in the draw and booked through Elders.

These lambs sold over the hooks by the Mickan Brothers of Walla Walla in southern NSW have given the national record a nudge to come back at a price of $410 including skin value. They weighed 42.39 dressed.

Elders Wagga Wagga livestock agent Adam Boyd said the lambs were a reflection of where the market currently was.

“Everything was dearer across the board today, we could have had prices that were $20 to $25 higher,” he said.

“The better prices were for trade lambs too, some of our trade lambs got up around that $13 a kilogram mark and there were a lot of lambs averaging $12 a kilogram,” he said.