Just 2700 lambs were offered, and weight and freshness was sparse with most of the young unshorn types showing signs of having dried off.
Agents predicted most woolly lambs in the area would now be shorn, and they will kick-off with a better run of early shorn lambs in the pre-Christmas markets.
Buyers didn’t show a lot of enthusiasm and mixed quality was an issue across the sale.
The few pens of well presented shorn lambs attracted the best demand and sold to a top of $145, gaining up to $12 compared to a fortnight ago.
Prices for light lambs were not as strong as some recent sales.
No outside store buyers operated.
The best processing lambs trended from 460c to a top of around 520c/kg carcase weight for those with weight.
Plainer and lighter lambs were 340c to 440c/kg depending on breed, quality and number in a pen.
In dollars per head, there were only two sales above $140 for lambs.
There were three pens over $130.
The bulk of the trade weighted lambs to processors sold from $80 to $115/head.
Light lambs under 18kg carcase weight sold from $40 to $72.
Some very secondary little Merino lambs sold down to $10.
There was some big lines of Merino wether hoggets in the yarding carrying short skins. They sold from $44 to a top of $73.
Some heavy crossbred two-tooths reached $80 a head.
There was also a considerable number of ram lambs and stags.
In the sheep run light mutton was the highlight, with fat score 1 and 2 Merino ewes considerably dearer at $16 to $33/head.
Merino ewes offering buyers a skin rebate reached up to $51.60.
Mutton was dearer in a range of 100c to 160c/kg carcase.
Top sales:
Lambs - H & J Dunmore, $133; H Wills, $142; A & C Bradford, $145.
Hoggets - C Allitt, $50; Askrame & Co, $72.
Sheep - GR Allitt & Co, $51.60.
~ Details provided by Meat Livestock Australia market reporter Jenny Kelly and saleyards manager Greg White, on behalf of the Deniliquin Associated Agents.
21°C