A consignment of first-cross ewe lambs from a long-time vendor topped the Kyneton store sheep sale at $172 a head.
The pen of lambs pipped the best of the 2022-drop first cross ewes which made $170 on Thursday.
The sale featured about 5000 mostly Border Leicester/Merino-cross ewes that sold to a gallery made up of mostly Kyneton and Bendigo-district buyers, with a healthy dose of competition from East Gippsland.
Elders Kyneton livestock manager Dean Coxon said that given the lift in lamb prices recently, the sale of 1.5-year-old ewes was "tougher than expected".
He said some of the yarding lacked the usual bloom expected at this fixture market.
"The older ewes stood up well, but the ewe lambs were a bit behind where they were normally, but sold well regardless," he said.
"Repeat buyers were evident on the first five or six pens of ewe lambs and it was a really good result on those pens."
Mr Coxon said a lot of locals had already sold lambs at $60-$70 and the economics just did not add up to go back in now and pay $200 for ewes.
"The lamb job has improved in the past two weeks but that hasn't changed people's confidence or ability to buy breeders for five years," he said.
"It's been a two-week spike, which is great for the industry, but it probably doesn't change people's mindset for sheep that they are going to keep for five years."
Nutrien Kyneton auctioneer Kieran McGrath said the lamb job was a feature and they sold "really well", making similar money to the 1.5-year-old sheep.
The vendors of the ewe lambs would be satisfied and all the 1.5-year-olds were sold and the vendors "have met the market".
"Eighty per cent of the yarding went to locals and Bendigo, locals like to buy local sheep," he said.
"The older ewes looked very good buying and to me all sheep at current rates are good buying because the sheep and lamb industry has a great future.
"It's certainly been undervalued in the last six months."
Mr McGrath said that while confidence was slow to come, the past couple of weeks in the lamb market had changed the landscape.
He said people involved in the sheep and wool industry had to be confident because the industry had a strong future.
The Geoff Keech Memorial award for best-presented pen was awarded to Ken and Glenys Kelly and son Roger and his wife Kim, Pinehill, Myrtle Creek, for their draft of 550 ewe lambs.
Buyer from the past 40 plus years, Graeme Fullgrabe, Nutrien East Gippsland Livestock, Bairnsdale, once again made an impact on the sale, purchasing 454 ewe lambs for two clients and paying to the top of $172.
The balance of the draft made $140-$164.
The sheep went to Bill Heggie, Heggie Farms, Tambo Upper, taking 223, and Barry Cameron, Buchan South, who bought 222.
The vendor of the Bairnsdale-bound sheep was the Kelly family.
The draft was April/May 2023-drop, November-shorn, out of Wurrook-blood ewes, by Pino rams.
Mr Fullgrabe said the Kelly ewe lambs had always done extremely well for his clients.
He said the Kelly sheep had a bonus in the wool which averaged 25- 26 micron.
Other ewe lambs included a pen of 123 sold by AP & KA Barri, Glenhope, that sold for $154.
This pen was May/June 2023-drop, November-shorn, out of South Australian and Western Australian ewes and sired by Baynton rams.
Tops of a draft account sold by RG Stables, Redesdale, was a pen of 59 at $134, that were May/June 2023-drop, November-shorn, out of ex-Beverly-blood ewes and by Bayliss rams.
The same vendor sold 94, same description, for $102.
A pen of 162 lambs sold by Prime and Kelly made $130.
Best of the 1.5-year-old ewes was $170 for a pen of 128 sold by J & L Cartwright, Raywood.
The same vendor sold 129 ewes at $155
Ramj Pty Ltd sold a pen of 95 June/July 2022-drop ewes, October-shorn, out of Riverina, NSW, ewes and by Blackgate rams, that made $150.
Best of a large draft sold by Stockrange, Glenhope, was $145 for a pen of 118, May/June 2022-drop, November-shorn.
The same vendor sold 113 at $135 and pens of 269 and 114 both at $130.
A pen of 107 ewes, 2022-drop, sold by Strawthorn, Kyneton, sold for $148.
S & K Hamilton, Emu Creek, sold 130 June/July 2022-drop ewes, October-shorn, out of southern Riverina ewes, to $145.
