‘Incredible’ processor bidding war smashes record lamb price at Griffith, NSW

Two major processors have battled it out at Griffith, NSW, leading to a brand new record price for lambs.

The record books need to be updated again after heavy export lambs sold to $431 per head at Griffith in NSW today.

In scenes not witnessed at saleyards before, two major export processors including JBS from Victoria paid over $400 per head on five separate occasions for grain-fed lambs, as the estimated carcass cost went over 1100c/kg.

Elders Griffith auctioneer Rodney Evans with record-breaking lambs. Picture: Jen Kelly

The price beat that set at Wagga Wagga 24-hours ago, which had claimed a national record of $424 for heavier lambs estimated by the National Livestock Reporting Service at close to 40kg cwt.

The $431 price at Griffith today was for a pen of 33 Poll Dorset Merino-cross lambs, bare shorn, which were estimated by selling agent Anthony Mannes, Mannes Agencies, at around 38-39kg cwt.

It was something of a family affair, as the lambs were bred and finished by Anthony’s brothers Shane and Damian, and father Kevin Mannes, on their property at Coleambally.

They were part of a draft of 351 sent into Griffith which averaged a phenomenal $405.75 per head after they sold in pen lots at $431, $410, $416 and $370. They were sired by Aberdeen Poll Dorset lambs from the Frohling family at Burrumbuttock out of Merino ewes.

Mr Mannes said the lambs were winter drop last year and had been running on lucerne and paddock lick feeders, before being locked-up and feedlot on grain since April. They had been shorn twice. As the lambs had enjoyed a reasonable backgrounding run on lucerne, actual grain costs hadn’t been excessive, he said.

Just one bid behind at $430 was a pen of 47 second-cross lambs from Aloisi Ag at Yenda. To put the size into perspective, agents said the truck had been put over a weighbridge and the lambs averaged 79.8kg liveweight on an 8-hour curfew.

The National Livestock Reporting Service quote for the main run of heavy export lambs sold at Griffith was just over $11kg cwt.

Mr Mannes described today’s Griffith sale as “incredible’’ with a run of sales at prices never witnessed before. Grain-fed Merino lambs sold to $300, while later in the sale heavy mutton was also dearer at up to $304 for crossbred ewes and $300 for Merino ewes.