Yardings soar after Anzac Day

If a break doesn't come, rather than seeing a May tightening of yardings, more producers could instead send livestock to saleyards, potentially subduing prices for a little bit longer.

Indicators lifted last week, driven by lot feeders and restockers, amid a 78 per cent increase in lamb yardings and a 35pc increase in sheep yardings.

The light lamb indicator also saw an uptick in prices driven by processors demanding bagged lamb for the Middle East market as those destinations reopen.

However indicators have eased this week with the exception of mutton and restocker lamb.

In the Wimmera region of Victoria, producers are waiting for rain that might allow them to hold stock for longer, but if that rain doesn't eventuate within the next couple of weeks, larger flows of lambs to saleyards could place further pressure on markets.

AWN Edenhope branch manager David Hanel said West Wimmera producers were on a knife edge waiting to see if rain would eventuate.

"There will be a lot of people who will have to sell stock because they can't hang on and the stock quality deteroriates the further you go into winter," he said.

"We'll probably get that rush if it doesn't rain too much and then I can't see a lot coming in in the depths of winter, I'd say yardings will tighten right up.

"Everyone has held on for that magic uptick in price which hasn't really happened.

"You talk to a lot of works and they're at least a month out with the kill so they're not having to secure a lot of lambs ... that's showing up in market prices at the moment compared with over-the-hooks prices.

"There's been a few forwards out for heavy lambs for 700 to 750c over the next month or so, which probably looks alright at the moment."

Fears of wild dogs spreading have also affected producer confidence following a decision by the Victorian government to remove a dingo unprotection order in the state's north-west in March.

Gary Driscoll from Driscoll & Co in Nhill said he was aware of producers who worried it wouldn't be worth staying in the sheep industry if the wild dog population were to explode.

"In our district recently there have been several wild dog attacks on flocks of sheep... there are many producers starting to consider going out of sheep within the proximity of the national parks," he said.

"Clients have certainly been speaking to me about it as to what decisions they make in the future."

Mr Driscoll said sheep being transported east from Western Australia were also placing significant pressure on markets in the eastern states.