Holy sheep! WA lamb price reaches record $370 per head as processors go head-to-head for ‘quality stock’

WA’s lamb price continues to surge, with an “unbelievable” new record of $370 per head achieved at Katanning leaving farmers and industry figureheads wondering just how high prices can go. The top-priced pen of heavyweight lambs was sold during a solid yarding of 16,060 sheep and lambs on Wednesday, August 6, with strong results across all categories and a big crowd watching on. It surpassed the previous record — set at the same saleyard one week earlier — by $40, thanks to strong competition from processors who went head-to-head for heavyweight lambs, mutton and rams. The competition led to an upward trend in prices across all three categories, with mutton reaching a top of $270 while ram lambs topped $297 and mature rams sold for $198 per head. Scott Anderson, of Uranbah Estate at Tambellup, sold the record-setting pen of lambs — which averaged about 30kg dressed or 70kg liveweight — and said he was surprised by the result. The lambs were bought by Fletchers International Group. “We were a few dollars below the record a couple of weeks prior so I thought we might go around that same number but it went a lot further,” he said. It was the first time the farmer had sold at a saleyard, usually opting to go direct to abattoir. “We usually know what we’re getting with them,” he said. “They usually set market or meet market but that wasn’t the case this year.” Nutrien Ag Solutions auctioneer Tom Bown — who witnessed the sale — said he was not shocked at the mega price, given the current state of the market. “Well-bred, well-finished, heavy lambs are in demand, and the numbers are definitely short,” he said. “Seeing as there was no real direction or guidance from processors in the last six months where they wanted the lamb to be, there has been a reluctance for graziers to hang on to them and feed them.” A mix of delayed turnoff due to seasonal conditions, booming export orders — especially from the Middle East, US, and Asia — and a low Australian dollar has driven intense demand for quality stock. Surging demand means lamb prices have hit new highs almost nearly week since mid-July at both the Katanning Regional Sheep Saleyards and Muchea Livestock Centre. Australia’s national lamb price record has been shattered at least 10 times so far this year, underscoring intense competition driven by drought, floods, and booming export demand. The latest national record was set on July 22, when a pen of 55 second-cross lambs sold to $479.50/head at Griffith, with agents believing this may not be the top of the market.