First-cross ewes to shine

Altogether 52,000 breeding ewes and ewe lambs will go under the hammer at sales on Thursday, October 12, and Thursday, October 19. This puts numbers on a par with last year, when 21,000 breeding ewes and 30,000 ewe lambs were sold.

Southern Australian Livestock general manager Laryn Gogel said he could see the top lines of ewes making more than $200.

"The lamb job and the mutton job is very favourable, so there's lots to like about being in the industry at the moment," he said.

"There may be some quite affordable buying on the younger, lighter ewes, but I'd say the better ewes would make between $180 and $240, and then the price would go back from there, depending on maturity.

"The ewe lamb sales should be interesting, we're seeing really good restocker interest on lighter lambs to put away."

Mr Gogel said despite the challenging seasonal conditions in the South East and Mallee, the sheep were looking as good as ever.

"The Mallee lambs, for our company, are every bit as mature and magnificent as they've ever been," he said.

"These guys are here, year-in and year-out, and they're very professional and proud of their sheep. The first-cross sales are a showcase of what their business is about, so they put a lot of time, effort and feed into making sure their sheep are every bit as good as they can be."

There was a good contingent of Vic buyers at last year's sale and Mr Gogel said he could see this happening again.

"Our sales have been a good hunting ground for the Victorians to come into SA," he said.

"Our biosecurity is right, and they recognise the fact.

"I'd expect the Western Districts, Vic, right through to Gippsland, Vic, to be very good supporters of the sale.

"At the end of the day, people are well aware of what these sales are about and the quality being offered. These sales offer an opportunity for breeders to showcase their operation, and what it's all about, and they're all very proud of their sheep."

Last year, 1.5-year-old first-cross ewes topped at $256 - up $19 on 2013 - for the James family, Coolawang, Mundulla, who sold 200 ewes by their own sires.

The 19,046 hogget and breeding ewes grossed $3.9 million and averaged $207.

Ewe lambs topped at $208 for 72 from Cameron Jesse, Western Flat.

There were a total of 32,920 ewe lambs sold, averaging $138 and grossing $4.57m.

Last year's figures represented the best sale since 2011's record-breaking year, where ewes made a saleyard record of $310, grossed more than $5m and averaged $251.

Naracoorte Combined Agents Association chairman Jason Mahney said he expected this year's sales to be solid.

"While prices are hard to predict, I'd say the job on 1.5-year-olds will still be pretty good, and the same sort of money as last year," he said.

"From the few odd sales we've had, the ewe lamb job seems to be a bit better than last year.

"I'd expect older ewe prices to be good, although they have come back a bit.

"While some vendors sold off early because of the season, we're still expecting reasonable numbers."