WHILE sucker lambs have already hit the markets in some areas, the type and number still to come rests heavily on how the season pans out.
According to Meat & Livestock Australia, the first five months of 2014 took total Australian lamb slaughter to 9.1 million head, comparable to the same period in 2013.
But MLA says a combination of survey results and industry feedback indicates lamb numbers will tighten year-on-year in the second half of 2014, against the record throughput of late 2013.
Mild conditions across SA and Vic in autumn and winter last year supported sufficient pasture growth, assisting lamb survival and marking rates in spring, and enabling ample lamb supplies to continue to come through during the start of 2014, according to MLA's sheep industry projections mid-year update.
The update said conditions had been cold and wet across the southern regions. There was anecdotal evidence of some areas in SA being too wet, although lamb growth rates had reportedly been very strong.
Agents across the state agree that the lamb job is looking promising, but frosts across SA and the halt in rain may impact on what type, and when, lambs hit the market.
At Murray Bridge, which held its second prime lamb sale on August 25, the general consensus is that agents are penning some of the best lambs from the district in years.
"We've had some of the best lambs we've seen in a long time - good, fresh lambs with more weight than normal," Landmark Murray Bridge's Kevin Keller said.
Elders Naracoorte's Tom Dennis said the district was expecting its first lambs to hit the yards as usual in the second week of October.
* Full report in Stock Journal, August 28, 2014 issue.