THE new year has bought a mixed bag of fortunes for Victorian prime lamb and beef producers.
Prime cattle markets generally opened 5c/kg either side of firm across Victoria while prime lamb markets held up, and in some places even improved up to $10/head, on already strong pre-Christmas sales.
At Ballarat yesterday, rates were firm for the 26,800 lambs and 5500 sheep sold.
"Prices remain equal to the closing sales last year with most trade and heavy processing lambs from 440c to 485c/kg carcass weight," the National Livestock Reporting Service's Erich Gstrein said.
All the regular buyers jostled to secure supplies in the smaller yarding with restockers paying from $71 to $87 following good rain across the region, Mr Gstrein said.
Light lambs sold from $75 to $78, light trade weights from $78 to $98 and medium 3-scores from $84 to $119.
Heavy 4-scores sold from $113 to $135.
Meanwhile, Bendigo's first prime sheep and lamb sale for the year posted rates $5 to $10 dearer than the record prices achieved for lambs in December.
The yarding of 14,085 lambs and 3034 sheep sold to very strong demand for all categories, the NLRS said.
Lightweights generally sold from $78.60 to $88 and were mostly bought to feed-on.
The small offering of sheep attracted rates $4 to $5 dearer.
Trends were more patchy across the first cattle sales of the year.
The NLRS's Mark Skilbeck said a much bigger-than-expected yarding of 1200 head at Camperdown yesterday met with rates slightly cheaper.
The increase in numbers was despite an abundance of grass in the region.
Rates for grown steers opened 2c/kg cheaper on pre-Christmas sales with most making around the 150c/kg mark for the good-quality beef types, Mr Skilbeck said.
Rates for other categories were falling into line, he said, with vealers making about 170c/kg.
Peter Kostos, reporting from Pakenham for the NRLS, said rates were generally a few cents dearer.
Heavy yearling steers made to 159c/kg, good-quality prime bullocks from 150c to 156c/kg and manufacturing bullocks from 142c to 150c/kg, to be firm to a couple of cents dearer.
Rates for cows were effectively dearer when accounting for a drop in quality from the last sale a fortnight ago, he said.
"All the normal buyers were here and having a bid," Mr Kostos said.
This follows an unusually large yarding of 1220 head at Pakenham on Monday where rates were mostly firm to 4c/kg cheaper.
Almost three-quarters of the offering were vealers and these sold to 186c/kg with most B-muscle pens making from 163c to 178c/kg, Mr Kostos said.
From Wodonga, the NLRS's Leann Dax said rates for the first sale of the year opened 3c to 5c/kg dearer due to a smaller offering of 920 head and solid demand from buyers seeking trade cattle.
