LAMBS have been piling into SA's saleyards in recent weeks, but looking ahead to the winter trade, numbers are expected to drop well down, compared to past seasons, according to local agents.
Pastoral lambs that failed to arrive at saleyards last season because of the drought have also contributed to the foreseen lack of supply going forward, with backgrounders unable to secure stock that would ordinarily be sold in the months ahead.
Elders Dublin/Yorke Peninsula livestock manager Matt Ward said yardings at SA Livestock Exchange at Dublin were sitting about 12,000 lambs in recent weeks, but that number could halve in the coming weeks.
"I expect another two weeks of solid lamb yardings, but it will reduce dramatically after that," he said.
"Sheep generally sold at early winter markets just won't be there because of a flow-on from last year's pastoral lambing issues."
A late season break was also expected to cause sucker lamb supply delays in early spring, according to Mr Ward.
"Producers that have an early March/April lambing would be hand feeding because of the late break," he said.
This means sucker lambs that were destined for July/August markets could be delayed until September.
"Other years, there is a reasonable break in March and April to get feed up and about for lambs," he said.
Alford lamb producer Nick Avery sells 95 per cent of his lamb drop at Dublin and has been selling October/November-shorn lambs since the end of February.
But after selling more lambs than usual in 2020, Mr Avery had less to offer in autumn/winter this year.
"We sold more sucker lambs earlier last year so I have less autumn lambs," he said. "The rain stopped and so did the feed, so we sold regardless."
Mr Avery will finish selling lambs in the next couple of weeks.
A lack of market confidence from producers could also impact the winter trade.
Pinkerton Palm Hamlyn & Steen Naracoorte agent Richard Harvie said winter traders would most likely be "shy" to put lambs on the market.
"The South East is yarding about 16,000, which is normal for this time of year, but it will drop lower than usual heading into winter," he said.
"There has not been the confidence from producers about the pricing.
"Last year, lambs that would generally make $8 a kilogram to $9/kg only reached about $6/kg."
Mr Harvie said although lower prices were caused by NSW producers putting a lot of sheep into the system last year, it could happen again.
Jamestown's market was cancelled this month because of a lack of numbers.
Nutrien Ag Solutions Jamestown auctioneer Shannon Jaeschke said throughput had declined off the back of drought-impacted pastoral areas.
"The North West pastoral area would generally supply sheep and lambs during this time of the year - but on the back of four years of drought, the numbers are just not there," he said.
"The North East pastoral area still needs rain and even though they have begun restocking, they are not operating at full capacity."
Mr Jaeschke said the likelihood of further markets at Jamestown in the months ahead was rain dependent and if graziers had enough feed to carry sheep over or off-load joined ewes.
Nutrien Fawcett Livestock's Colin Fawcett expected lamb yardings at Mount Pleasant to diminish in the coming weeks.
"Old season lambs will disappear because they were sold early to grab the good returns," he said. "The bulk of lambs are gone and there's not a lot of mutton around, so yardings will be lower than usual."
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Vanessa Binks
I am the Markets Editor and journalist at the Stock Journal. I am based at Nuriootpa in SA's lower north.
I am the Markets Editor and journalist at the Stock Journal. I am based at Nuriootpa in SA's lower north.
