For those with adequate feed, store lamb buying opportunities are opening up in greater numbers and a month early than normal.
This fact was evident at Bendigo Livestock Exchange on Monday when its weekly prime lamb and sheep penning exploded to just shy of 40,000 head resulting in one of the largest early September markets at Bendigo since the 1980’s.
This huge spike in supply, which saw weekly numbers jumped by more than 10,000 head, has forced Bendigo Stock Agents to split their weekly market, with weekly lamb-only sale to begin from Monday September 17th followed by sheep-only sales starting Thursday September 20th.
Agents said due to the changed (weather) conditions and OH&S concerns these arrangements will continue until further notice.
To assist with the huge numbers spilling out of the Riverina and from across northern Victoria Bendigo agents Elders and Landmark have planned a special store lamb sale for next Thursday, September 13th commencing at 10:30 am.
Elders livestock manager Nigel Starick says the idea (of the sale) was to ease some of the conjestion being created by the excess of store lambs being yarded in the Monday markets.
“Holding a special store lamb sale allows buyers and sellers the opportunity to trade lambs that normally would have been bought and sold as finished lambs later in the season”.
“It is unfortunate the season has turned pear-shaped but there is good demand for store lambs especially from those with grass, irrigation or failed crops” he said.
The sale, which has 15,000 head nominated so far, will offer both crossbred and Merino lambs, all being well bred and in strong, healthy condition.
At Monday’s market there was solid competition from Hamilton, Horsham and Swan Hill for big lines of young store lambs, with smaller numbers going to Shepparton, Finley and the local area.
Drafts of small-framed unshorn crossbred lambs, mostly out of NSW, made $43-$105 to average $80/head. Some recently shorn young lambs, with more frame-size and maturity, made $99-$133 to average $121/head.
A major buyer of Bendigo store lambs in recent weeks, Wayne Driscoll, Rodwells Horsham said the opportunity to purchase store lambs has never been more compelling.
“The drought in the north and poor lambing in the south because of excessively wet weather must see lamb numbers short until the next lambing season” he said. “And the ewe numbers that have been killed over the past 12 months is not a factor the industry has come to terms with as yet” he said.
