It was somewhat confusing and disappointing in the light of recent lamb and mutton prices to find a small and rather reserved crowd attend a special sale of 9000 store sheep at Deniliquin NSW on Friday, after the recent rain.
Being the first sale in the Riverina and one of only a handful held across the southern states since January, it was only the truly dedicated who attended, with representation from most of the broadacre cropping areas conspicuous by their absence.
From what I’ve been told of the 2016 grain harvest, while yields and volumes were brilliant, resultant prices have plunged to decade-long lows. And due to this one might have expected, with drier than average conditions tipped for the next growing season, that some income risk diversity may have been on the radar for those with the infrastructure and interest to farm sheep.
On the day and with the small crowd, there appeared many lots that were good buying. Of particular note were several pens of young 16-drop crossbred ewes – one lot joined that made only $162 that appeared well worth their money.
Admittedly these were White Suffolk Merino-cross, and only recently joined, which might not have been everyone’s cup of tea. But they were strong healthy young sheep with all their breeding life in front of them.
Another was an unjoined line by SuperBorder rams. These made $208 and another lot $168, which was a long way off the sales held in spring and as late as January.
Smaller grown restocker lots, June to September-drop, which were passed without sale at less than $135-$140 would have, could have made a good investment as 1.5 year-olds next spring .
Shorter term finisher lambs sold in the $90 to $130 price bracket were considered about the money. The lead of these were sold for lot finishing on grain and on current lamb slaughter values also appeared to provide opportunity going forward.
Again not everyone’s cup of tea but at the head of the Merino ewe penning two yards of rising two-year-old station-bred Dohne ewe sisters oozed opportunity. Sold as one lot ‘scanned in lamb 100 per cent multiplies’ and the other as ‘scanned in lamb 100 per cent singles’, these joined to White Suffolk young ewes which were set for late May/June lambing were sold at $241 and $218 a head respectively, was an opportunity gone begging.
This was especially the case when yards of young 15-drop Merino ewes afterwards but close by – joined or offering scannings of less than 100pc – made $220, $193 and $190 a head.
However older ewes – aged four to six years and joined, appeared good selling on the strength of mutton prices at $100-$130 (given their condition) while young wethers sold at $70-$120 were not overly priced on the current wool market strength.