SHEEP from Western Australia have put a ceiling in young ewe prices in the past month, and last week it was Hay's turn to feel the effects.
But even with the influx, results posted for vendors were still a mile ahead of where they were a year ago.
There was none of the hype or excitement that September's sale produced, where young ewes made $232.
But the best young breeding ewes last week still made $197, with nine pens making more than $160.
An agent, who did not wish to be named, said there was no doubt about the influence the influx of sheep from the west had made.
"It's become fashionable to buy sheep in from WA," he said.
And while the buzz was gone, and the crowd a lot smaller than a month ago, it did not detract from the excitement of the Hooke family, who achieved the sale's top price for their line of 363 Merinos, May-June 2009-drop, East Loddon blood and April shorn from Warwillah.
The balance of young ewes sold from $114 for smaller, young types, to $150.
Elders Riverina, northern Victoria and Gippsland manager Ron Rutledge said the rates paid at Hay were comparable to other sales in the Riverina in the past month.
"This sale reflected what other sheep have made, and it is where the market is at," he said.
Several of those who held back at Hay's September sale bought stock last week, including the Holschier family from Woomboota, NSW, who paid the $197 top price.
Stephen Holschier said the ewes would be joined to a SAMM ram, with the resulting ewe progeny kept for prime lamb production.
He liked the fact that the Warwillah ewes had six months wool, as he could then see the type of clip he could expect.
"The sale ... is back a bit but these are good sheep," he said.
One of the interesting sales of the day was $129 paid by an Albury, NSW, buyer for a pen of 307 Merino ewe lambs.
The May-June-drop ewes, Alma blood and unshorn, were sold by Minarto at Albury.
Older Merino ewes made $90-$127, the best money paid for a pen of 695 head sold by the Bunyan family of Daisy Plains, Booligal, which were 2005-drop, Alma blood and July shorn.
Agents quoted the ewe market as on par with recent Riverina sales.
Wethers were a different story, with plenty of competition for both woolly and shorn Merino wether lambs.
Buyers seemed to have a budget in mind, and mostly paid $80-$89 for unshorn lambs.
Honours for the best wether prices went to TA Field Estates, with woolly, Hazeldean-blood lambs, while Abbotsford sold shorn wether lambs, Collinsville blood, to a top of $77.
There were several lines of crossbred ewe lambs, and these made $118-$150, while crossbred wether lambs topped at $121.
