Dowra mart’s Friday sheep sale saw 1,500 sheep pass through the yard, with mart manager Terry McGovern noting that numbers were starting to build as more mid-season lamb comes out to sale yards.

Factory fit lambs were slightly up in price on the week prior, with all heavy lambs with good coverings of flesh on them easily surpassing €3/kg. Factory agents were very active, and there was no such thing as letting heavy lambs go home unsold.

Sample prices included a pen of 10 lambs weighing 47kg selling for €155/head (€3.30/kg), with a pen weighing 53kg selling for €164 (€3.09/kg).

Store lambs were slightly back on price compared to the week previous, though top-quality lambs in the 30kg+ bracket were still capable of selling for a price per kg similar to the finished lambs, with one pen weighing 40kg selling for €126 (€3.15/kg). A slighlty lower demand for store lambs was attributed to tighter grass supplies by Terry.

Ewe lambs with breeding potential have yet to be turned out in big numbers, noted Terry, but a premium was there for quality types, with one pen weighing 37kg selling for €134.50/head (€3.63/kg).

Cull ewes were seen in lower numbers this week, with top quality fat ewes selling between €1.70-€2/kg, with the top pen of ewes weighing 85kg selling for €170 (€2/kg).

These six ram lambs weighing 52kg sold for €163.50 each.
These seven ram lambs weighing 53kg sold for €164 each.
This pen of mixed lambs weighing 51kg sold for €157 each.
This pen of ram lambs weighing 43.5kg sold for €136.50 each.
This pen of ram lambs weighing 36kg sold for €101 each.