Unseasonably dry local conditions have left Sharon and Ray Bowen, "Lynwood", Yeoval, and other vendors in the area, preparing to sell on their remaining prime lambs for whatever they can, anticipating a dip in the market.
“It’s been a very tough year, very very dry and dusty,” Mr Bowen said.
“With more young lambs coming on and sucker lambs on feed as well, people are almost at the point of selling the older lambs for whatever they can get.
“We have some nine-month-old lambs which we we are close to selling.
“With the season, it’s getting to the point we can’t have them around much longer.”
Mr Bowen said it had been a struggle adding fat coverage to lambs before sale, feeding daily on grain and the last of a dwindling oat crop.
He said prices at the Forbes sheep sales had held up well, despite the trying seasonal conditions, receiving strong prices for their eight-month-old, second-cross lambs at the sales at the end of August.
“The market has been strong, it’s dropped back but it’s still reasonable,” said Mr Bowen.
“Prices have been good for anything well finished and for the start of the sucker market. The few older and heavier lambs have still been selling well.”
“Forbes has been getting a high number of southern buyers. In the past weeks, the southern new lambs hadn't quite come on line,” he said.
Mr Bowen said that the arrival of new lambs in the south will see a drop in the market as processors will have a high volume of lambs on offer.
