The season in the South East of South Australia and Western Districts of Victoria has been one of the best of all time with surplus feed in most paddocks.
After an extremely quiet winter, marketing of livestock is now starting to kick into gear with lambs full on in the Naracoorte yards.
Mount Gambier and Hamilton are just starting to get going in the saleyards as the run into Christmas starts, with a lot of lambs being held an extra week or two because of the abundance of feed.
Vendors are excited with their prices and are also looking forward to very attractive forward prices for early in the New Year
The roads are full of trucks carting lambs to the works at rates we have never experienced this time of year.
Vendors are excited with their prices and are also looking forward to very attractive forward prices for early in the New Year, so lamb marketing this year should be able to be done in an orderly fashion.
Mutton continues to tick along nicely with excellent rates available for this time of year. Naracoorte has its 1½ year old ewe and lamb sale this month and I am sure we will see extreme rates for young ewes. The changeover will look ok though with an old ewe and sucker lamb going a long way towards the young ewe coming in.
The cattle market is now consistent after a slight dip in prices a few weeks ago.
Processors are keen to get their share of cattle at the weekly Mount Gambier Market and these cattle are yielding exceptionally well by all reports.
I doubt the large number of slaughter cattle are out there, so prices look to be holding up well.
With good rains in Northern NSW and Southern Queensland, I am predicting the weaner sales are going to go very well, not at the extremes of last year, but still acceptable to our vendors in South Australia and Western Victoria. The calves should have plenty of weight and bloom. The recent ALPA AGM in Adelaide went very well with an enjoyable networking couple of days.
Simone Dand of Elders won the prestigious ALPA & Fairfax Agricultural Media Agency Award from a very strong field of candidates in this year’s competition.
Well done Simone!!
All the best for the rest of the season and have a great Christmas.
*Don Keatley is Ray White Mount Gambier principal and an Australian Livestock and Property Agents (ALPA) Board Member.
