Jerilderie sheep sale: “It was certainly under our expectations.’’

Hopes were high that the Jerilderie sheep sale would beat Hay’s market, but only a handful of pens made more than $200. See all the details.

Selling action at the Jerilderie store sheep sale.

A top of $220 and just a handful of pens over $200 for quality young Merino ewes at Jerilderie in NSW today raised more questions about buying confidence and depth of restocking demand for store sheep as the industry pushes deeper into the spring selling season.

Prices were conservatively $20 to $30 below expectations, with key vendors such as Ian Cameron, The Yanko, “surprised’’ at how cautious and unsure of values buyers were in the opening run.

“I was a bit surprised at how the lead ewes didn’t kick-off they way we thought it would,’’ he said. “It was certainly under our expectations.’’

There were 13,000 Merinos in the yarding, which was the 22nd Annual John Wells Memorial store sheep sale and the key market for the year for local breeders.

Selling agents called for a price of $260 on the opening pen of 200 of the Willandra bred ewes which were May/June 2023-drop and off shears. They were greeted with silence, with the auctioneer imploring the crowd to put forward a start which was eventually $170. The pen went on to sell for $204.

Selling action at the Jerilderie store sheep sale.

Such a start bore parallels with the recent big Hay store sheep sale where selling agents also had to contest with low start offers and slow bidding.

And while prices at this sale inevitably get compared to Hay where ewes sold to $300, the sheep at Jerilderie are a different type and didn’t show the weight and growth of the more plainer bodied ewes sold at Hay.

Some onlookers suggested the offering, being more wool type sheep at the Jerilderie market, was harder hit by struggling wool returns.

The Jerilderie sale also traditionally relies on more southern buyers, and this was lacking with hardly a Victorian agent in attendance.

But even taking all these factors into account, the Jerilderie sale could only be judged as flat and a battle for selling agents Elders as they had to try and build most pens up from low starts of around $120 to $150.

Local breeder Donald Bull, Irroy, from Conargo, NSW, said they understood the pressures of the season and uncertainty around markets and thought they had set reasonable expectations, but even those weren’t met.

“We didn’t come in with high expectations at all but I expected the sale to be bit better than this,’’ he said.

“I was happy enough with our pen of yearling ewes but it fell off very quickly, no doubt about it.

“If I had to describe this sale I would say buyers were very frugal with bids.’’

The Bull family topped the sale, and received the memorial John Wells shield, when their 252 ewes sold for $220 to repeat buyer Marty Corcoran from Boorowa in NSW. The ewes were May/June 2023 drop, Woodpark Poll blood and August shorn.

After this the top prices for young 2023 drop shorn Merino ewes were:

– Innesvale, 186 ewes at $218;

– Willandra: 200 ewes at $204; another 286 at $192

– Sleigh Pastoral: 370 ewes at $196; and 406 at $172

– Dewhurst: ewes at $194

– Woodpark Poll: 397 ewes at $192;

– Merwin: 403 ewes at $184; and

– The Yanko: 228 at $165 and 200 at $140.

,NSW buyer Barry McClellan describing his purchase of the $218 Innesvale at the Jerilderie sheep sale ewes as “realistic’’ on current return and cost fundamentals.

Buyers generally accepted that values had been in their favour, particularly if they had recently sold sucker lambs for more than $200 and heavy old ewes above $100.

However they didn’t declare them as ‘bargains’, with NSW buyer Barry McClellan describing his purchase of the $218 Innesvale ewes as “realistic’’ on current return and cost fundamentals.

“(The store ewe market) has gone back to being realistic,’’ he said.

“There is a good chance I can get $200 for lambs out of these and $50 for wool, which means I can get out of them in around 18-months whereas when we having to pay $300 and $400 for ewes it was taking us three or four years to clear a few bob.’’

Martin Moore, who lives in Melbourne but has a farm at Euroa, paid $194 for ewes and said it was a comfortable investment.

Martin Moore, who lives in Melbourne but has a farm at Euroa, paid $194 for ewes at the Jerilderie sheep sale and said it was a comfortable investment. “They are good buying I’d say,’’ he said.

“They are good buying I’d say,’’ he said.

The lack of buying depth was shown when nearly all the older Merino ewes sold to meat buyers at between $80-$100.