It was the fifth time this season the record has been broken – prompted industry experts to question just how high prime lamb prices can go – and it comes as just reward for the selling centre, vendor, agents, and seedstock producers.

Vendors John and his son Jock Fowler, Kooroogong Pastoral Company, Harefield, were delighted with the result after their lambs, weighing an estimated 40 plus kilograms dressed, made the new record price of $200.

“I am very satisfied but not surprised,” Mr Fowler said.

Agents described the lambs as the heaviest they had seen and the record holders were bred using genetics from Tom and Phoebe Bull’s Lambpro stud, Holbrook.

Despite an assumption that lambs that heavy would be second cross, they were in fact first cross and had benefited from careful genetic selection on the part of Mr Bull.

Livestock agent and GJ Hulm and Co principal, Greg Hulm said the lambs were as heavy as he had seen and he was thrilled to witness prices climb so high at Wagga.

“I have not seen prices at this level before,” he said.

The lambs were sourced for Southern Meats, Goulburn, by buyer Michael Fitzsimmons.

WLMC, manager, Paul Martin said the high prices were a true reflection of the success of the region and the sheep industry in general.

He said the WLMC was the largest sheep-selling centre in the southern hemisphere and record prices would help to boost confidence in producers.

According to the National Livestock Reporting Service (NLRS) the market was buoyant throughout with the seven livestock agency companies yarding and selling 24,900 lambs and 3000 sheep.

The exceptional quality and tight supply of extra heavy lambs helped to push prices up by $6 to $13 a head, and heavy lambs averaged 545c/kg cwt.