Sticky conditions underfoot last Friday following 10mm of overnight rain only added further fuel to the demand for store sheep at Swan Hill.
Competing for a smaller than usual September penning of 6340, local Mallee restockers appeared keen for numbers, as benchmark prices surge well above expectation.
The market for station-bred crossbred store lamb saw butchers claim the lead drafts up to a top price of $134 a head (20kg) while restockers competed strongly in the $104- $121 a head price range.
Mixed aged Merino ewes, aged four and five years, April-shorn, with healthy June/July-drop young Poll Dorset lambs at foot made to $215 a head while smaller lots of mixed aged ewes made $184-$207.
Younger three year-old Merino ewes, not station mated, were also well received selling from $186, to $191 a head for a March-shorn SAMM/SAMM-cross line while several lines of breeders five year-old ewes saw prices range from $112 to $130 a head.
The selection of station-bred 16-drop Merino wether lambs was limited to one solitary pen. Keri-Keri-blood and August shorn these made $93 a head while three yards of 15-drop made $84-$107.
