Mature Primeline maternal ewes sold through AuctionsPlus on Tuesday averaged $335 for a 93 per cent clearance while 100pc of ewe lambs under 30kg averaged $211 or 1580 cents a kilogram dressed weight.
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Ewe lambs 30-40kg averaged $242 while those greater than 40kg average $268.
The top priced lot of two year old ewes sold for $390 for 350 head from the complete sheep dispersal of the Barton Group's Tumut River property Kimball, going to David Mayne at Cowra.
Agent for Kimball, Jarred Slattery, said the Primeline composite had increased uniformity aver the past decade and their maternal abilities were "right up there".
Primeline creator and Lambpro principal Tom Bull, Holbrook, said "The key message from this is a flood of transition towards meat not wool."
While prices were back $20-$30 compared to last year they followed a broad trend that has been repeated at other cross bred sales and can be attributed to more supply of new lambs and softer demand as well as there being less weight in the ewe lambs, many of them just three months old, straight off one year old ewes.
On a cents per kilo basis prices were very similar to last year, Mr Bull said.
Mitch Small, Bringadee Grazing at Cowra, came away with 360 three year old ewes for an average of $372 and 500 four year old ewes for the very respectable average of $346/hd.
"We're moving away from first cross ewes to 100pc Primeline because we want a self-replacing sheep system. These genetics are robust and very fertile," he said. "For us it's about running lambs per hectare and with a self-replacing flock we're not subject to market fluctuations when buying back in. It gives us a bit more control over our destiny."
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