Good gains for Sheep and Lambs at Ballarat

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Yarding - 30,761 (+7590) .

Lambs - 21,537 (+5297).

Sheep - 9224 (+2293).

A big lift in lamb numbers saw 5,937 extra penned for a yarding of 21,537 head, at Ballarat this week. The quality ranged from average to very good, with an excellent run of light and heavy trade weight lambs penned. There were also more heavy weight lambs offered this week. The usual buying group attended and operated in a dearer market, with light lambs selling to $4/head dearer, the medium and heavy trade weights 22-26 kg selling from $3 to $8 dearer and the heavy and extra heavy lambs in places to $12/head up on last week. Extra heavy lambs reached $215, with the medium trade weights 22-24 kg, selling from $154 to $173/head and averaging around 680c/kg cwt. Restocker and feeder interest was again strong with a few extra orders in the market, they mostly paid from $117 to $165, with lighter plainer lots selling from $21 to $87.50/head. Most of the heavier unshorn lambs sold to restockers. Retocker and feeder lambs were mostly from firm to $5/head up on last week. Restockers also purchased, May shorn Merino ewes offered in big runs from $95 to $152/head.

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Light weight 2 score lambs sold from $110 to $133/head. Light trade 2 and 3 score lambs, 18-22 kg, sold from $134 to $160/head and averaged around 690c/kg cwt. Medium trade weight 3 and 4 score lambs, 22-24 kg, sold from $154 to $173/head, and ranged from 650c to 720c to average around 680c/kg cwt. Heavy 3 and 4 score trade lambs 24-26 kg, sold from $172 to $181/head and averaged around 680c/kg cwt. The export weight lambs sold from $175 to $195 and the extra heavy export lambs sold from $205 to $215/head. Crossbred hogetts sold from $106 to $155, with the Merino hogetts selling from $86 to $110/head.

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There were 9,224 sheep yarded, up on last week numbers and quality ranged from plain light weight sheep to several runs of quality, heavy crossbred and Merino sheep. Most of the regular buying group operated, but with Northern processors very strong. Merino wethers reached a top of $182, heavy crossbred sheep sold to $175, with Merino ewes selling to $160/head. Light sheep sold from $5 to $15 dearer, the medium and heavy sheep were from $8 to $20/head stronger and more in places. Wethers sold from $10 to $20 dearer and up to $30/head more in places. Light weight 1 and 2 score sheep sold from $35 to $92 to average around 420c/kg cwt, with very light sheep selling from $1 to $71/head. Medium weight 2 and 3 score sheep sold from $76.20 to $160/head and ranged from 370c to 540c, with the Merino mutton averaging around 485c/kg cwt. Heavy Merino ewes sold from $116 to $138, the heavy Merino wethers sold from $130 to $182 and the medium weights sold from $86 to $125/head, the heavy Merino sheep ranged from 475c to 530c/kg cwt. Heavy crossbred ewes sold from $104 to $175/head and averaged around 435c/kg cwt. Heavy crossbred wethers sold from $128 to $172, and rams sold from $10 to $87.50/head