Numbers lifted at the Wagga market and combined in the total were 6750 new season lambs.
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Quality was mixed across old trade categories, with full wool lambs not carrying the fat cover required for trade buyers, resulting in some pen lots heavily discounted.
All export and most domestic buyers attended. There was also strong local and northern restocker competition for lighter weight new season lambs. New season lambs sold to weaker demand with bidding from major domestic buyers sporadic.
New season trade lambs generally sold up to $9 to $13/head cheaper. Lambs ranging from 22-24kg made $150 to $167.60/head averaging 653c/kg cwt. Old trade lamb prices were very erratic, which caused a bigger price variation over all classes.
Supplementary fed and shorter skinned trade lambs again attracted the strongest bidding, while full wool types, lacking finish, caused prices to slip up to $10/head. The better finished old lambs sold at $145 to $173/head.
Heavy lambs sold to fluctuating price trends, with the market strengthening for lambs showing finish and increased weight. Heavy lambs sold $8/head cheaper to average 644c/kg cwt.
Extra heavy lambs were in short supply, and pen lots 30kg plus ignited the bidding to record a top price of $238/head. Extra heavy lambs averaged 646c/kg cwt.
It was a plainer quality offering of sheep, with less numbers of heavy sheep. Heavy cross bred ewes averaged 363c/kg cwt. Trade sheep sold $3 to $6/head cheaper to average 352c to 401c/kg cwt.
Old trade lamb prices were very erratic.
- Leann Dax