IT'S pay day for southern Australian producers, as processors spend up big on heavy lambs.

Processors paid $183 at Dubbo on Monday.

This capped off a fortnight of high prices, with $175 at Wagga Wagga, $174 at Forbes, $167 at Griffith and $166 at both Bendigo and Mt Gambier.

At Griffith last week a pen of 41 lambs, with an estimated carcass weight of 33kg, made $167.

But the depth of competition was evident when the sale was analysed, with 440 lambs making $160 or more.

National Livestock Reporting Service manager Travis Parsci said the numbers making high prices was what stood out this year.

"We are not talking about pens of 10 or 20 which are making the big money, but decent pen sizes," Mr Parsci said.

This included the top price so far this season of $182, set at Dubbo for a pen of 69 lambs, which had a carcass weight of 35kg and made 477c/kg carcass weight.

Rodwell and Co Bendigo livestock manager Mick Crapper said heavy lambs had been making "phenomenal money".

However, the highest prices, in cents a kilogram terms, are being paid for trade lambs of 21-24kg carcass weight.

Mr Crapper said this could see the record price set at Bendigo six years ago remain unbeaten.

He said producers were being rewarded for buying store lambs at $80 and putting weight on them.

"This year producers could have made $30-$40 a head, or more even, if they bought in lambs at $80."

The Australian record lamb price was set in June 2004 at Bendigo, when a pen of 37 head, weighing 38kg carcass weight, sold for $192.10.