The processing of prime lambs was slowed in the final week to end finance year trading.
Numbers fell by seven percent to 346,008 units across eastern states lamb plants compared to the week earlier, with the largest cutback seen in lamb dominant Victorian sheds where production fell by 11 percent to 185,601 units.
However the five-state kill completed for the past 12 months has remained solidly seven percent higher than a year ago and two percent up on the 2015-16 financial year.
The burning question facing processor buyers is where they will acquire adequate supplies over the next three months due to the prolonged dry in the station country of NSW where a large portion of the winter supply is traditionally sourced.
Some operators suggest that like cattle plants earlier in the year rotating days of darkness could well become a feature of smallstock processing plants this winter along with selected and possibly extended closures for annual leave and maintenance.
To offset some of the expected loss in smallstock processing plants, an increase in mutton production is anticipated as post-shearing turn-off gains momentum along with the annual spike in the processing of bobby calves which has its yearly peak through the months of July and August.
In fact, the weekly slaughter of sheep and goats were both positive this past week, with mutton slaughter numbers increased by 10 percent to 110,912 units and the goat processing up 22 percent to 21,086 units.
The cattle kill throughout the eastern states was also slowed, due mainly to a lesser number of cows (5-6%) being processed in the dominant cattle production states of Queensland and NSW.
Overall cattle slaughter was back three percentage points to 145,331 adult cattle units while numbers in SA fell sharply by 15 percent due to a reduction in shifts at one processing shed.
The cattle kill for 12 months also exceeded year ago production by 7.5 percent but was 11 percent less than the 2015-16 adult beef kill. Source MLA
