Sheep prices surge in northern NSW Riverina

A move by farmers to hold back stock rather than sell into a depressed market has paid off, as ewe prices rallied at Griffith on Friday. See the latest prices.

The power of farmers rejecting another bout of extremely low sheep returns has been linked to a major turnaround in saleyard mutton prices in the past two days.

Heavy Merino ewes in wool sold to $183.50 and big crossbred ewes to $165 at Griffith in NSW today as prices surged to levels not seen for some time.

The bulk of the heavy and good trade sheep at Griffith sold above $100 per head with the National Livestock Reporting Service estimating processors were paying over 400c/kg carcass weight for good lines of quality mutton.

The prices are in stark contrast to how the market was performing earlier this week, with the average mutton price at Bendigo on Monday listed at less than 200c/kg cwt after big ewes failed to achieve returns any higher than $90.

Sheep prices have surged in the past two days, heavy Merino ewes reaching a top of $183.50 and crossbreds $165 at Griffith saleyards today as carcass rates went to 400c/kg and better on quality lines. Picture: Jenny Kelly

Data shows there has been a strong reaction from farmers to this most recent downturn in sheep and lamb prices which has hit the auction system this February, with saleyard numbers slashed this week.

According to Meat and Livestock Australia, farmers cut sheep and lamb supply by more than 100,000 head in the past week as they refused to sell into the softer market.

The combined sheep and lamb numbers at NLRS monitored saleyards this week was 229,193 head, down 110,783 head on the previous week, MLA detailed in its latest market wrap released today.

Mutton prices started gaining momentum on Tuesday but have really gathered pace in the past two days. The rising trend can be tracked via average sheep prices listed by NLRS for key selling centres, which were:

432c/kg cwt at Griffith on Friday

342c/kg at Wagga Wagga on Thursday with this sale quoted as $20 to $30 dearer than a week ago;

300c/kg cwt at Hamilton on Thursday, this sale also quoted as $20 dearer;

285c/kg cwt at Ballarat on Tuesday; and

197c/kg at Bendigo on Monday.