![Elders Kyneton livestock manager Dean Coxon and Ken Kelly, Myrtle Creek, who won the Geoff Keech Memorial Trophy pen of ewe lambs which sold for $260 during the first-cross Border Leicester/Merino-cross ewe sale at Kyneton. Photo by Larina Strauch. Elders Kyneton livestock manager Dean Coxon and Ken Kelly, Myrtle Creek, who won the Geoff Keech Memorial Trophy pen of ewe lambs which sold for $260 during the first-cross Border Leicester/Merino-cross ewe sale at Kyneton. Photo by Larina Strauch.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/bryce.eishold/c7493a80-96b6-4061-99f6-76135e30b7b0.JPG/r0_505_3072_2232_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Wet weather prevented several consignments of sheep from being sold at Kyneton on Thursday as prices for ewes and ewe lambs declined by as much as $100 a head.
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Agents yarded 5000 sheep for the annual first-cross Border Leicester/Merino-cross ewe sale where ewe lambs sold to $266, and 1.5-year-old ewes sold to $300.
Elders Kyneton livestock manager Dean Coxon said wet conditions across central Victoria made it impossible for some livestock to be ready for the sale.
"Our numbers were back a little bit due to a tough season resulting in not as many sheep coming up," he said.
"The wet weather also meant not every sheep couldn't be shorn for the sale, and that was also a result of a shearer shortage."
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Sheep lacked the bloom they featured compared to last year's sale, Mr Coxon said, as most ewes sold from $240-$300.
"When we got onto the ewe lambs aged six months, we saw any of the top drafts of any of the joinable ewe lambs made anywhere from $240 to $266," he said.
"The next run of lambs suitable for a March joining made from $180 to $230, and then the turnout ewe lambs to grow out into 1.5 year olds made from $130 to $170."
He said lamb prices were down by as much as $100 compared to the same sale last year.
"We saw mostly Ballarat, Bendigo and local buyers buy all of the sheep," Mr Coxon said.
AP & KA Barri, Glenhope, topped the ewe lamb section of the sale when 132 lambs sold for $266.
The Barri family also sold 68 ewe lambs for $245.
KG & R Kelly, Myrtle Creek, won the Geoff Keech Memorial Trophy pen of 112 ewe lambs which sold for $260.
The Kelly family also sold 107 ewe lambs for $238, 90 ewe lambs for $214, and 99 ewe lambs for $210.
Stockrange, Glenhope, sold 350 ewes including 142 1.5-year-old ewes for $258, 112 ewes for $264, and 90 ewes for $240.
BP Kelly, Pyalong, sold 70 1.5-year-old ewes for $252, 101 ewes for $250, and 12 ewes for $160.
Nutrien Kyneton livestock manager John Robson said prices for well-bred sheep were still buoyant, depending on quality and condition.
"Our opening pen of sheep were 65-kilogram ewes and made $300 and bought by a local breeder at Kyneton," He said.
"I thought the top end was back a bit on the 1.5-year-old ewes, but when we got onto the lighter end, I thought it was dearer compared to other recent ewe sales."
"We have a lot of people who in our district join late so we don't necessarily need fat, grown ewes, we need well-grown ewes that don't have to be fat because they might not be joined for two or three months."
The top-priced lot was sold by S & J Saunders, Oasis Olives, Kiala, who consigned 224 first-cross 1.5-year-old ewes for $300.
R & P Paget, Tabilk, sold 197 first-cross 1.5-year-old ewes for $280.
J & J McCahon, Moliagul, sold 126 first-cross 1.5-year-old ewes for $250.
DNB Partners, Yea, sold 125 first-cross ewe lambs, six months, for $135.