Producers prefer to send to saleyards

Yards remain the sales method of choice for lamb producers with over half nominating it as their marketing preference. Here’s why.

Saleyards remain the sales method of choice for lamb producers with 58 per cent nominating it as their marketing preference.

And with an estimated 26.8 million lambs from this year’s drop to be sold, over the hooks are expected to account for just 23 per cent of those sales.

The Sheep Producer Survey, run in October this year by Meat and Livestock Australia and Australian Wool Innovation, delves into their intentions for the current season.

While fewer than 2000 producers completed the survey, their information was weighted with data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics to produce the industry estimates.

The survey reported that there was a difference in how lambs were sold depending on flock size.

“Producers responding to the October 2022 survey have indicated that saleyard auctions and over the hook sales will be the two primary channels for lamb sales this year,” the analysis said.

Saleyards remain the top selling method for lambs with over the hooks the next most popular according to the results of a Sheep Producer Survey.

“Smaller business are more likely to use a single sales channel with the larger producers like to use more than a single channel.

“For the larger producers, forward contracts and online auctions are use more often that other segments.”

MLA market analyst Jenny Lim said the survey reflected the importance of saleyards to producers.

“Saleyards are rated as the number one sales channel and have the biggest number of transactions,” Ms Lim said.

“This is especially true for producers who have 3000 sheep or less.”

In a state breakdown of the figures, the biggest users of saleyards was NSW (73 per cent) while the smallest was Western Australia (27 per cent).

South Australia was the biggest user of over the hooks (35 per cent), WA was the biggest user of paddock sales while Tasmania and Queensland were the major users of online selling.

Only a small proportion of lambs were expected to be sold through forward price contracts, amounting to 2 per cent nationally.

The survey also gave a breakdown by breed.

Of the 26.8 million lambs born in 2022, Merinos still make up the majority at 40 per cent, followed by prime lambs at 35 per cent and first cross sheep at 15 per cent.

Merinos still make up the biggest proportion of any breed when it comes to joinings.

Pure shedding sheeplike Dorpers made up 4 per cent of the flock.

NSW remains the dominate sheep state with 36 per cent of the national flock, followed by Victoria with 23 per cent and WA with 19 per cent.

The survey also measured producer sentiment, and at the time, 46 per cent said they were going to increase their flock within the next 12 months.

“I think there is positive sentiment around sheepmeat despite the supply chain issues there have been,” Ms Lim said.