FOLLOWING last week’s hot and dry first-cross 1.5-year-old ewe sale at Naracoorte, the ewe lamb sale on Thursday provided a bit of a contrast.
It was a very wet sale as about 30,000 young ewes were yarded, with the prices back a little from the high expectations set by the week before.
The top price was made early by a pen of 72 ewes, account C Jesse, from Paxton stud sires, which sold for $208.
The next pen, from GT & AY Purdie, sold for $206, for 130 ewes with Inverbrackie and Moorundie Park bloodlines.
Winner of the best presented pen, judged by Lachy Day, Bordertown, also sold for $206.
The pen of 166 March-April drop ewes from McMahon Bros were out of Gunallo ewes and Johnos Border Leicester rams.
Pinkerton, Palm, Hamlyn & Steen stock agent Josh Manser said the sale was a little back on the high expectations set by the previous week’s 1.5yo ewe sale, where the top pen sold for $256, and the sale average was $207.61.
“The sale was where I expected it about two weeks ago,” he said.
Mr Manser said the season had placed some limits on prices with limited support from the Hamilton and western districts of Vic, where feed is short.
Mr Manser said the top end of the market held up well, while lighter, "unmateable" ewes may have suffered from the shortage of feed.
* Full report in Stock Journal, November 27, 2014 issue.
