Agriculture
5 January, 2026
MARKET SUMMARY, PRICES: Lighter offering at first sale of year
The new selling year opened with a relatively small yarding of 9900 lambs and 4800 sheep at Bendigo on Monday.
On the supply side more weight is starting to appear in the lamb run and all agents had shorn lambs off feed weighing over 30kg cwt. In comparison neat tradeweight lambs with excellent finish were limited. Four or five processors were missing from the lamb buying group, with the major domestic buyers watching rather than participating.
The sale fluctuated, opening with not much energy before buying interest improved as the sale progressed, but then tended to flatten off again.
As a guide the lamb market held a $10kg cwt baseline, the majority of sales estimated between $10 to $10.80c/kg with just occasional pens of very neat domestic lambs over $11kg cwt. But conversely, there was some export lambs that were estimated just under $10kg cwt and it is worth noting that a lot more weight was available in the lamb run this sale. Export lambs from $327 to a top of $368/head. Heavy lambs in the 26-30kg cwt range varied from $280 to $323/head. Buyers picked through the heavy trade lambs, 24-26kg cwt, at $254 to $300 but with the majority of sales from $260 to $280/head.
Restocking interest was still solid on the better bred and presented store lambs at $170 to about $215/head, and with feeders paying to $240 for bigger framed trade lambs to carry-on. Plainer light lambs and mixed lots $148 to $165/head. Hoggets sold to $253/head and of note was a big line of Dorpers sent down from pastoral country of NSW which sold from $198 to $248/head.
Competition for sheep remained robust, all but the very heaviest ewes estimated as costing buyers well into the $7kg cwt plus range and with some sheep working out above $8kg cwt. Heaviest meat ewes $240 to $273/head. Merino ewes with wool rebate to $275/head while some lines of heavy Merino weathers were well supported at up to $289/head. General run of trade to heavy ewes of mixed presentation mostly $170 to $220/head, lightest ewes down to $150/head in a limited selection.
EXOTIC LAMBS
G Power Yambuna (12) $273. A & J Rinaldi Kooreh (35) $220. EXOTIC LAMBS
SHORN LAMBS
DJ & ED Lees Rochester (111) $368. WJ Whatley Goornong (53) $349. AK Collins Bridgewater North (85) $348. DI & CL Palmer Bamawm (70) $334. NA & MN Hocking Pyramid Hill (47) $305. GT & DL Trimble Laanecoorie (72) $299. R & B McKenzie Elmore (116) $295. Bunguluke Park Pty Ltd Wycheproof (14) $287. GT & DL Trimble Laanecoorie (43) $282. JR & KA Kennedy Pyramid Hill (74) $280. JC & JM Blow Salisbury West (55) $276. Bernard G Smith Seymour (67) $270. XH Keighran Kyneton (5) $270. WW & RG Farming Macorna (184) $258. MN Isaac Family Trust Powlett Plains (62) $247. EXOTIC LAMBS
SUCKER LAMBS
TB & JL Demeo Raywood (47) $350. T & M Kelly Kilmore (34) $297. T & M Kelly Kilmore (112) $281. JM Hiscock & Sons Kilmore (204) $273. Bolangum Hills Gre Gre (52) $270. JM Hiscock & Sons Kilmore (125) $269. B Baldwin Gre Gre South (36) $257. RL Turner Spring Hill (38) $254. JR & KA Kennedy Pyramid Hill (22) $226. EXOTIC LAMBS
CROSSBRED LAMBS
Gredgwin Ridge Boort (50) $323. CN & DW Slatter Boort (36) $320. DJ Fatt & JA Gallagher Raywood (58) $310. JM & PJ Darker Boort (28) $306. SN & DA Collins Bridgewater North (27) $270. EA Wilson Boort (55) $263. EXOTIC LAMBS
CROSSBRED EWES
Ballantyne Ag Millicent (60) $274. Will Ogden Wanalta (1) $274. RL Turner Spring Hill (83) $265. JM Hiscock & Sons Kilmore (32) $245. G Tillig St Arnaud (7) $234. Travis Cail Drummartin (1) $234. EXOTIC LAMBS
MERINO EWES
Bolangum Hills Gre Gre (n/a) $254. R & H, JD & R McNutt Knowsley (43) $251. Ballantyne Ag Millicent (217) $244. DW Francis Lockington (29) $222. Jimmy Young Yarck (47) $222. Nutbyrne Pty Ltd Knowsley (80) $207. Will Ogden Wanalta (13) $206. EXOTIC LAMBS
EXOTIC EWES
Redwood Park Produce Koraleigh (94) $240.