Heavy-lambs sold for a saleyard record of $267 a head at Ballarat on Tuesday, set by export processor, Southern Meats, Goulburn, NSW.
Andy Maher of Dean was the vendor behind the pen of 93 lambs, estimated to weigh 38 kilograms by National Livestock Reporting Service (NLRS), which were offered by TB White & Sons auctioneer Gerard White.
Gerard White said the two NSW processors in this week’s Ballarat buying gallery “set the cat among the pigeons”.
“From what we’re told, heavy lambs are scarce in the north so northern processors have come south to fill orders,” Mr White said.
Despite the $267 high price paid at Ballarat believed to be a new state record, the price was trumped at a sale across the border.
A new national record of $276.20 was set at Wagga Wagga, NSW on Thursday, paid for a yard of extra heavy lambs which were quoted to be more than 30kg, and average an estimated 695 cents a kilogram.
The draft of 168 second-cross Poll Dorset and White Suffolk lambs were sold by Doug Constance, Berridale, NSW.
TB White & Sons co-principal Leo White said the previous best price paid for heavy lambs at Ballarat was $256 a head, received in autumn 2017.
“It’s very good money but it has been much tougher going this year, due to the dry autumn, to hold these heavy lambs for this late into the season,” Mr White said.
“And people do tend to forget our vendors also received the sort of money back in the winter of 2011 so the top end of the lamb market hasn’t progressed that significantly over the past seven years.”
Elders livestock agent, Graeme Nicholson, said the market was the best he had experienced in his 44 years as an auctioneer.
“Not often we have days like this,” Mr Nicholson said.
“The rise in the market, which we saw as $10-$15/head, flowed through to the ‘smart’ trade and light trade lambs, however the plainer lambs were not much dearer.
“I would suggest there would be plenty of lambs that would cost trade processors beyond 750c/kg, and up to 850c/kg. It was quite an incredible market.”
