Floods and looming floods across northern Victoria are not slowing the spring store sheep market, according to Elders Swan Hill livestock specialist Matt Rowlands.
He says this week could see as many as 30,000 sheep go through local saleyards and he is also looking for stubbles agistment for clients – cereal, beans or dried irrigation pasture.
“Prime lamb and mutton markets continue to see large numbers of new season lambs and mutton supplied to local saleyards,” Matt says.
“Overall the market prices have been quite firm during the past month, with the better quality stock definitely being sought after and attracting premiums for weight and carcase quality as wet conditions disrupt the quality of feed supply and the doing ability of stock.”
But further east the rising waters are causing chaos in the market and a logjam in supply as the flow of sheep and cattle into abattoirs and saleyards is disrupted by widespread road closures and flooded paddocks.
While prices there, like Swan Hill and Ouyen, are holding (the Eastern Young Cattle Indicator down just 8 cents earlier this week to 1033c/kg and lamb falling just 1 cent to 769c/kg) but the full impact on prices will unfold in the next week or two.
In Bendigo, just 11,000 sheep were yarded on Monday – down 5000 on the previous week and well behind numbers coming up at Swan Hill/Ouyen next week) while the Shepparton cattle sale was cancelled.
The weather has also impacted on national sales, with cattle down 11 per cent across the country.
Meat and Livestock Australia senior market information analyst Ripley Atkinson told The Weekly Times wet weather was having a dual effect of restricting supply but also boosting feed levels.
“Spring grazing conditions affording producers marketing flexibility and wet weather inhibiting transport has tightened supply and as a result aided the market to remain strong this week,” Ripley says.
“Compared to the corresponding week in 2021, national weekly yardings were lower by 26 per cent or 10,560 (cattle).”
Matt added that stud ram sales in the region have also been running for the past month, with “buyers present and looking to secure leading local genetics”.
“The sales to date have been a great success, with local Merino and White Suffolk ram sales seeing close to/and 100 per cent clearance rates, with average price ranges between $1500-$2000”.
