A few pre-Melbourne Cup jitters at Bendigo

Yarding - 31,180

Modest dip in numbers for Melbourne Cup week, down to 23,480 lambs and 7700 sheep. Lamb quality was plainer with less weight and a lot more dried skinned young lambs appearing. Prices generally weakened by $2 to $10/head, with only the very best trade and heavy new season lambs that still showed a lot of freshness selling above 800c/kg to a peak of around 830c/kg cwt. There was an abundance of general trade lambs in the 20-25kg cwt range and most of these lambs were estimated between 720c to 780c/kg cwt depending on quality and visual appeal.

There was less weight and condition in the lead pens of young lambs this week, the limited number over 28kg cwt selling from $230 to a top of $263/head. This was followed by the pick of the heavy trades at $182 to $220/head. By supply the biggest numbers were in the 22-24kg cwt range with these young lambs selling from $166 to $195 to average $178/head; and the 20-22kg cwt weight lambs which sold from $150 to $177 to average $164/head. There was still reasonable competition on good MK processing and quality lines of store lams at $122 to $156/head, although carcass price estimates were still at lower levels than a week ago. Small crossbred lambs $52 to $116/head.

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One agency did lead their sale with shorn young lambs which sold to a top of $244, some very neat pens over 800c/kg cwt.

In the sheep run there was less export competition on extra heavy mutton which gave back $10 to $20/head. Big crossbred ewes $90 to $115 at an estimated 260c to 280c/kg cwt. But then trade and light mutton still sold reasonably well underneath this at $55 to $85/head to be still costing processors over 300c/kg cwt on the better runs. A local agent paid from $133 to $137/head for a line of big framed young Merino wethers.

https://www.bendigo.vic.gov.au/Services/Bendigo-Livestock-Exchange