Unshorn store lambs sold to a top of $176.50 at the 16th annual Benalla/Euroa North-east Victorian backgrounding and finishing lamb sale on AuctionsPlus.
The catalogue of 19,070 first and second-cross mixed sex lambs sold to strong inquiry with 63 of the 71 lots selling.
The cataloque included 13,000 unshorn lambs and 2500 shorn lambs.
Top price of $176.50 was for 190 second cross lambs by Poll Dorset rams out of Border Leicester/Merino ewes sold account RM & C Hartwig, Greta.
The pen had an average liveweight of 45.3 kilograms and dressed wight of 20.5kg.
The same vendor sold 125 lambs, same description, that weighed 36.3kg lwt and 15.6kg dwt.
Sale co-ordinator David Walsh, Nutrien Benalla, said the catalogue averaged 38kg lwt across all lots and sold at an average of 404c/kg lwt and 945c/kg dwt or $152 across the offering.
He said it was a great result for vendors who had been breeding and preparing lambs specifically for this market for many years.
He said the sale had been opened up this year to Nutrien's partners Rodwells in the north-east and had attracted more numbers than previous years.
Buyers came from Colleambally, Wagga Wagga, Parkes, Lockhart and Albury in NSW as well as Bendigo, Ballarat and Yarrawonga in Victoria.
Mr Walsh said the sale day was changed this year from the traditional Tuesday, to the Friday to "try to stand out a bit from the other sales".
"We started the sale a 9am and we've had a lot of positive feedback about that and the change in day," he said.
Major vendor of the sale was JD Harrison, Warrenbayne, who sold a total of 2200 second-cross lambs by Poll Dorset rams, unshorn, July/August 2020 drop, with 1300 selling in four lines for an average of $171. The lambs weighed 41.6kg lwt and 17.8kg dwt.
Three lines of lighter lambs, 33kg lwt and 13.8kg dwt, totaling 900, sold account the same vendor, making from $148 to $149.50.
Two lines of lambs sold account Brandon Park, Miepoll, with 285 in each lot, weighing 42kg lwt and 18.kg dwt, unshorn, sold for $170.
AR Neander Partnership, Warrenbayne, sold a line of 590 second-cross lambs, unshorn, weighing an average 401kg lwt and 17.7kg dwt, for $170.
Top of the shorn lambs was $170.50, or 409.9c/kg lwt and 926.6c/kg dwt for an offering of 360 second cross lambs, November 23 shorn that sold account NG & SE Heaney, Goormabat.
A line of 77 ewe lambs, by White Suffolk rams out of Merino ewes, June/July drop, weighing 45.7kg lwt and 19.5kg dwt, sold for $166.
Vienna Invest Holdings, Samaria, sold 310 lambs by Dorset rams out of composite ewes that weighed 43.2kg lwt and 19.1kg dwt, that sold for $153.
A pen of 400 lambs by White Suffolks out of maternal composite ewes sold account CNG & ML Crocker, Merangul, Violet Town, July/August drop, weighed 42.5kg lwt and 18.4kg dwt, selling for $160.
