A LARGE yarding of 27,000 ewes and lambs was met with strong buyer competition at Jamestown on Thursday, with young ewes selling to $272 and 5.5-year-olds topping at $211.
There were some lighter types available for all budgets in the young ewe offering, but the top end lines consistently sold for $240-$270.
JK&SK Lemon topped the market with their 128 September-shorn, May/June 2018-drop Moorundie Park-bld ewes making $272. The same vendor sold 110, 5.5-year-olds for $204.
Maro Creek/Wilkinson, Snowtown - who offered about 800 young ewes in total, as well as 373 breeding ewes - made $270 for 200 August-shorn, May/June 2018-drop Leahcim-blds and $174 for the 5.5-year-olds.
Wirrilla Holdings, Georgetown, made $261 for 149 August-shorn, April/May 2018-drop Moorundie-blds, while N&C Klingner, Crystal Brook, sold 214 September-shorn, May/June 2018-drop Springvale North-blds for $260.
Landmark Jamestown's Shannon Jaeschke said although prices at the top end of the young ewes had come back a fraction, there was still strong competition and demand for middle-aged and older breeding ewes had lifted.
"The overall quality of this yarding was very good and credit goes to the vendors for getting the sheep up to the condition they are, considering the seasonal conditions we've had in the past 12 to 18 months," he said.
"The middle run of young ewes sold well and our breeding ewes were stronger than a month ago due to a bit more enquiry from the South East and the mutton price lifting."
Mr Jaeschke said the lamb job was stronger than at last month's market, mainly due to increased supply and more feed availability on the horizon.
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The majority of middle-aged ewes sold for $180-$240, with RK&SA Mumford, Minlaton, topping the 2017-drops by selling 222 April-shorn, June/July 2017-drop Leahcim-blds for $238.
Crawford Park, Georgetown, made $236 for 77 September-shorn, June/July 2017-drop Baderloo-blds.
Some mixed-age runs attracted good competition with a run of 57 August-shorn, April/May 2015-17-drop Baderloo-blds from Garawang, Georgetown, making $230, while 123 September-shorn, June/July 2015/16-drop Baderloo-blds from Crawford Park sold for $227.
At the top end of the 3.5-year-old and 4.5-year-old ewe lines were DJ&BD Smith, Tarcowie, who sold 140 September-shorn, April/May 2016-drop East Bungaree-blds for $226 and made $224 for 125 April/May 2015-drops of the same bloodline.
Elders Jamestown's Scott Fleetwood said it was a very strong sale, with quality sheep coming in from a wide range of regions including the Mid-North, Upper North, Eyre Peninsula and pastoral areas.
"The sale was strong across the board," he said.
"A couple of orders out of the South East for breeding ewes resulted in good competition there. There were a lot of regular buyers bidding against some new buyers, which saw a strong sale right through the young ewes, middle-aged sheep, breeding ewes and lambs."
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There was a large and good quality offering of older breeding ewes, with four lines of 5.5-year-olds eclipsing $200.
SH Slee sold the tops, with 81 July-shorn, April/May 2014-drop Orrie Cowie-bls making $211.
Francis Capowie, Quorn, sold 202 April-shorn, June/July 2014-drop Rices Creek-blds for $210, while John Michael, JW Michael & Co, Wudinna, made $202 for 259 July-shorn, April/May 2014-drop White River-blds.
There was about 5000 lambs for sale, with ewe lambs sought after and selling to $170 twice.
A complete drop of 235 woolly ewe lambs - June/July-drop White River-blds averaging 37 kilograms - from MJ&KE Brands, Wudinna, made $170, with the same price achieved for 114 September-shorn, April/May-drop Bradfield-blds, av 41.9kg, from Jacka Partners, Mannanarie.
Crossbred lambs sold to $159 for 113 September-shorn, May/June-drop lambs from Kanyaka Props, Cradock. The lambs were out of a Merino/SAMM ewe and sired by a Gumview White Suffolk ram.
There is unlikely to be a Jamestown market on October 31, with the next sale expected to be held on November 14.
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